JF 487 




mm 




fTQKK 




LATEST CHICK BOOK PUBLISHED 

FIRST EDITION 



Edited and Compiled by 

CAMPBELL L. CORY 



The A. D. Hosterman Co., Publishers 

Springfield, Ohio 




Secrets of Success 
Witk Baty Ckicks 



Devoted to brooding, feeding and raising chicks of all varieties with 

special chapters written hy some of the country s foremost 

breeders giving their secrets and their own methods 

of raising chicks successfully. 



Edited and Compiled by 
CAMPBELL L. CORY, Editor Poultry Success 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 
PRICE FIFTY CENTS 



Published By 

The A. D. Hosterman Company 

Springfield, Ohio 








A HAPPY FAMILY 

This illustration is published by courtesy of W. C. Huber, prop, of Huber's Re- 
liable Hatchery, 112 W. High St., Fostoria, Ohhio. 




APR 28 1921 ©C1A615803 












SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER ONE 




BROODING AND FEEDING BABY CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 

Details Must Be Watched — Success Only Comes From Correct Feeding 

And Proper Brooding — Important Pointers Especially 

For Beginners 

By Campbell L. Cory. 

The last thing a chick does before piping the shell of an egg 
and coming out to start its life in the world is to absorb or assimilate 
the yolk of the egg This is nature's way, and in the yolk of the egg 
nature provides sufficient nourishment to last the chick 36 to 48 hours. 
No food should, therefore, be given the chick for this length of time 
any way. Some poultrymen begin feeding when their chicks are only 
24 hours old, but they usually have trouble later with cholera. The 
majority of the most successful breeders wait for at least 48 hours 
after the chicks are hatched until they are given their first food, while 
some even wait until the chick is 72 hours old. 

This is one reason why day-old chicks can be shipped such dis- 
tances and in good condition. This is likewise the reason why safe 
delivery can be guaranteed for a thousand miles or more by the ship- 
per, whether a poultry breeder or hatchery, It is calculated, I believe, 
provided good connections are made, that a box of chicks can be sent 
by an express company or by mail a thousand miles within 24 hours 
or possibly a few hours more. 

The old saying, "A bird in hand is worth two in the shell," is true 
enough and this is one of the reasons why the baby chick industry has 
grown to such proportions within the past few years. The purchase 
of day-old chicks has many advantages, especially for the novice, 
over the customary method of buying eggs and hatching them, and 
while many more thousands of chicks are being hatched by the larger 
hatching concerns and shipped each season, still thousands of breeders 
would rather buy eggs for hatching from a reliable poultryman, know- 
ing exactly what stock they are buying, and hatch the chicks them- 
selves. When a person sets a hen or incubator and hatches the chicks 
more pleasure is derived from poultry raising. 

Vitality Chicks That Grow 

But in the purchase of the chicks I want to suggest caution to all 
prospective buyers. Do not buy the very cheapest but at the same 



6 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

t me don't pay an exorbitant price. In baby chicks, as in most other 
things, it pays to pay a little more and get a standard article. What 
you want, too, is chicks with vitality, chicks that will grow into 
strong healthy birds. The word "vitality" is the keynote in success 
w th ch'cks. 

Thousands of beginners in poultry raising, as well as many 
expert breeders, have found that the hardest problem after hatching 
or buying chicks, is to make them live through the first ten days. 
Hundreds of thousands of chicks are lost each year during this critical 
period because of careless and wrong feeding. Success with chicks de- 
pends entirely upon the poultry raiser himself, for to be successful 
in brooding and feeding chicks, one must not be careless in regard 
to details, haphazard about feeding or negligent about sanitation. 

First Feeding Important 

After being placed in the brooder they should have plenty of fresh 
water, as they will want something to drink as well as eat. The first 
feed should consist of bread crumbs and the yolk of hard boiled eggs 
crumbled together, a good commercial dry milk mash, or any of the re- 
liable baby chick foods now advertised. This should be their feed for 
at least four or five days when they can be given any good commercial 
chick feed. In the meantime, too, you can give them some pin head 
grit and cover the bottom of the brooder with fine, clean sand. 

Do not overfeed the chicks and it is best to feed oftener and not 
so much at one time. 

Feed on a bare board the first two days. The third and fourth days 
scatter part of the feed on the board and the rest of it in the litter, 
and make your chicks work for it. Always spread or scatter the food 
enough so that all the chicks will be able to get what they need, 
otherwise the weak and timid ones will go hungry. 

A little chick will not develop properly without exercise. The 
brooder should be roomy enough to avoid the danger of crowding, 
and an apartment strewn with straw should be attached to the brooder 
or hover where the chicks can scratch and run about freely, as this 
promotes growth and health. 

There are numerous suggestions as to how best to feed broods to 
develop little chicks, but by following these general directions, even 
the beginner should have success. 

Pointers Especially for the Amateur 

Do not feed chicks for at least 36 to 48 hours after they are 
hatched. Some poultrymen wait 72 hours. 

If you buy day-old chicks, estimate the time they have been on 
the road from the hatchery before feeding. 

Feeding chicks before 36 hours often causes cholera which many 
mistake for white diarrhoea. 

Dry feed is better than a wet mash during the first 10 day:?. 

Do not feed chicks green food or meat scraps during the first week. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 7 

Do not overfeed the chicks. It is better to feed a little oftener 
and not so much at one time. Feed five or six times a day. ^. 

See that every chick comes out from under the hover at feeding 
time. 

Always keep fine grit and charcoal and fresh water before chicks, 
changing water at least twice a day. Always use lukewarm water. 
Never use cold water. 

Place water where chicks can't scratch litter into it. If chicks 
spill the drinking water and the litter becomes soaked, remove the 
wet litter. 

Test brooder or hover and have same in good running condition 
before arrival of chicks. 

Be sure chicks have plenty of sunshine. Chicks also require fresh 
air, but must be protected from drafts, especially floor drafts. 

Have temperature in brooder a little high rather than too low. 
Chicks will get away from excessive heat while too little results 
in crowding. 

s|e sje He sfc 

BHOODER TEMPERATURE 

I advise the following temperature for brooders or hovers. 
First week — start at 95 degrees and reduce gradually to 90. 
Second week — start at 90 degrees and reduce gradually to 85. 
Third week — start at 85 degrees and reduce gradually to 80. 
Fourth week — start 80 degrees and reduce gradually to 75. 

sj« - !fc sfc :S 

THE GREAT VALUE OF SKIM MILK 

I wish here to call special attention to the value of sour, skim 
milk or buttermilk in baby chick feeding. Sour milk is very palatable, 
it also contains much food value in its casine which is a form of 
protein or nitrogen. The greatest benefit however lies in its disin- 
fecting qualities. The lactic acid present kills and prevents the mul- 
tiplication of intestinal bacteria. 

White diarrhoea is one of the most dangerous of these forms. In 
order to get the greatest benefit from sour skim milk it should be 
given the youngsters to drink from the very first day being given in a 
closed vacuum fountain so that the chicks cannot get their feathers 
soiled with it. 

It should be changed daily and the vessel kept perfectly clean. 
Experiments conducted at the Connecticut Experiment Station have 
proven its great value. Experiments conducted at the New Jersey 
Station show that where sour skim milk is used as mentioned the 
percentage of mortality was very materially reduced over pens that 
did not receive it. 

Also the skim milk chicks made a gain in weight of over 28 per 
cent more than those receiving no milk. Since these conclusive tests 
it is needless to say that the majority of poultry keepers are feeding 



s 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



skim milk (sour) or bittermilk 
to all of our young chicks dur- 
ing the brooding period with 

tin 1 greatest success. 
* * * * 

THE TOUR ESSENTIALS 

1. An understanding of the 
principles governing the 
growth and nutrition of chicks. 

2. The working out of a 
simple, inexpensive but effi- 
cient ration. 

3. The liberal feeding of 
sour mflk to the youngsters 
for at lea>t the first five weeks 
and longer if possible. 

4. Watch the chicks care- 
fully and remember that even 
the smallest detail is too im- 
portant to be overlooked or 
neglected. * 

TOE MARKING CHICKS 
The diagram below shows the 16 different combinations used in 
toe marking chicks. When the chick is a day old the thin web between 
the toes can be punched with a regular punch manufactured for this 

^ j*. purpose without hurting the 
'I "\ chick. For instance, all chicks 

/^|\ // | Vk hatched from a certain pen or 
/IS. /T\ ma ^ n S, can b e punched like No. 




Toe punching -a chick. A round hole is 
made in the web of the foot with a chick 
marker. 



* 



Method used in toe mark 
ing chicks to determine age 



5. — the outside web of the right 
foot. All chicks from another 



/i\ /4V pen can be punched like No. 3, 

and pedigree — or the mat- I '.-,•' ^ i * 1 «•. o 

ytv yjs. the inside web of left foot, 

ing which produced the chick '•J ^ *\ x When these chicks are grown 

A small iiole J is' purfeh<^3' m /J\ A\*^ the owner can easily tell from 

the web of "t&'chWs foot /fV /^j\ which mating* &ey came by re- 

, . .V, jk jt< ferring to the toe marks. Later 

between the toes with a /T\ /T\ 
pocket poultry punch or 
chicks marker. The diagram 
shows the 16 different com- 
binations or toe marks pos- 
sible. 



the toe marks can be supple- 



Each one of these inverted V 
shaped marks in the accom- 
panying diagram represents a 



A|\ y »i v mented by leg bands. 

/^pv y\^ chick's foot. The top two 

>k y*^ straight across are the feet of 

*i "I the same chick. The- one on 

S[b *flV the left is the left foot, and 

/fc^ yd^s the one on the right the right 

foot of the same chick and so on. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 9 

CHAPTER TWO 



/^ 




SOME ESSENTIALS IN FEEDING CHICKS 



Any Method of Feeding That Permits a High Mortality Is Expensive, 

Untiring Care Is Absolutely Essential to the Success of Any 

Method of Feeding Little Chicks. 

By Clara Nixon, Ithaca, N. Y. 
The important objects to be accomplished in the feeding of young 
chickens are: (1) To bring to maturity or to marketable size and age 
as large a proportion of the hatch of chicks as possible; (2) to enable 
the chicks to develop large, strong, well-proportioned frames and 
good plumage for their variety; (3) to provide for as rapid a growth 
as is attainable, at as low a cost as is consistent with other require- 
ments. In the fulfillment of these purposes the following factors 
must be considered: (1) The eggs must be incubated properly; (2) 
the chicks must not be left too long in the incubator after the com- 
pletion of the hatch. They should be removed to a nursery, or brooder, 
when they are thirty-six hours old; (3) the chicks must be strong 
and vigorous when taken from the incubator; (4) they must be prop- 
erly cared for and skillfully fed. 




Wing banding a chick. Wing bands will not come off and serve as 
a permanent identification. 



10 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

Cleanliness 

All the pens, the food and water dishes, and everything used 
about the chicks should be carefully cleaned and disinfected at fre- 
quent periods. This care should begin before the chicks are put in the 
brooders and should continue throughout the entire time of brooding. 
As soon as the litter becomes damp or soiled it should be removed and 
the pens should be thoroughly swept and disinfected after the litter 
is removed. To a considerable degree, careful cleaning will prevent 
the tracking of filth into the food. The food dishes should be cleaned 
frequently in order to prevent contamination of the food supply, and 
the dishes for water should be washed once daily and scalded once 
each week. Drinking water should be supplied in vessels of such a 
form as will render impossible the fouling of the water by the chicks. 
Food should never be allowed to accumulate in the litter, since it is 
thus likely to become spoiled and unfit for the chicks. Neglect of sani- 
tary precautions furnishes a fruitful source of disease. 

Fresh, Untainted Food 

Spoiled food or musty food of any kind should never be given to 
young chickens. Moistened food spoils very quickly in summer, and 
for this reason, only a quantity sufficient for one meal should be mixed 
and any food that becomes even slightly soured or moldy should be 
thrown away. Cracked grain often heats and becomes musty, and, 
if fed, will cause serious bowel throuble in chicks; therefore, if only 
one ingredient in a quantity of chick feed of this kind has become 
musty while in storage or in any other manner, the entire lot should 
be discarded. Beef scrap manufactured from tainted meats may also 
prove dangerous food. A convenient method of testing beef scrap is 
to warm a small quantity of the material by holding it in the hand. 
If the oder of the warm beef scrap is like that of cooked or even 
scorched meat, there is probably nothing unwholesome about it; but 
if the odor is similar to that of decaying flesh, the scrap is wholly 
unfit for young chickens. Sligjit mustiness in grain may be detected 
in the same way. 

Quantity and Quality of Food 

It will readily be conceded that if chicks are not given sufficient 
food to ^supply their bodily requirements, they cannot be expected to 
grow satisfactorily. It is equally true that the food may be abun- 
dant but of such a quality that it will not yield sufficient nourishment. 
For example, chicks fed on a ration consisting largely of bran or 
some other material containing a large proportion of indigestible fiber 
could not eat enough of the food to supply the needs of their bodies, 
rlthough their crops might be constantly full. On the other hand, 
chicks fed chiefly on beef scrap or on sour milk curd would, in their 
efforts to fill their crops, get more food material than they could 
possibly digest. In the first case the chicks would be starved, and in 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 11 

the second they would be overfed. Chick foods sometimes contain a 
high percentage of small seeds encased in a hard shell, such as millet. 
The digestive organs of young chickens may not be able to crush this 
shell, and the chicks may thus eat a large quantity of the grain while 
obtaining little nourishment from it. 

Young chickens should be given as much wholesome food as they 
will eat, but they should be made to clean it up once a day. If they 
fail to do this the remaining food should be removed, and no more 
should be given until signs of hunger appear. The chicks should be 
kept in such condition that they are eager for food at feeding times, 
but should be sent to roost with full crops; and unless the attendant 
is to be at the brooder by daylight or soon after, a little grain should 
be left in the litter at night so that the chicks may find it the first 
thing in the morning. The best time to stint the chick is at the morn- 
ing meal; they are then more active and will hunt vigorously for every 
scrap of food left in the litter. 

Cracked and Ground Grains 

Chicks appear to need both cracked and ground grain: the latter 
because the nourishment is more easily and quickly available; the 
former because the additional energy needed to reduce the larger 
food to available form tends to strengthen the digestive system. The 
difference in the mechanical condition of the food also furnishes a 
variety in the ration, and the chicks tire less quickly of their food. 
If ground food is given at night the crops of the chicks empty quicker 
than is the case when their evening meal is of cracked grain. 

Animal Foods 

Fowls seem to need animal food. In the natural state the chicks 
are reared at a season when the supply of insects and earth-worms 
is abundant, and the mother hen exerts herself to procure this food 
for her brood. Since chicks reared in brooders are under artificial 
conditions, the supply of insects is very limited and animal food of 
some sort must be furnished to remedy this deficiency. The material 
generally preferred for this purpose is beef scrap. If fresh and un- 
tainted this gives very good results, when fed in such a manner that 
the chicks are not obliged to eat more of it than they desire. In an ex- 
periment conducted at Cornell station in 1909, chicks allowed free access 
to beef scrap from the first meal ate, in the first six weeks, 5 to 8 per 
cent of total food in this material. In another experiment, the data 
of which have not been published, the chicks that had hopper-fed beef 
scrap with cracked grain and ground food, consummed in beef scrap, 
during the first eight weeks, 8 to 10 per cent of their total food, ex- 
cluding green food, and the results were apparently good. One flock, 
however, was given the mash mixture and beef scrap, with no cracked 
grain. For this flock the quantity of beef scrap consumed was more 
at times than all the other food. Eighty -nine per cent of these chicks 



12 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

died of digestive troubles before they were seven weeks old, probably 
because of their abnormal consumption of a highly concentrated food. 
Infertile eggs are sometimes used for the animal food. These 
should be given with caution, however, as they are very concentrated 
and may cause digestive troubles if fed in too large quantity. 

Sour Milk Excellent 

Skimmed milk and its products are greatly relished, but if sour 
milk curd is fed, care must be taken that the chicks do not get too 
much. If the milk is given as drink, an unlimited supply at first might 
cause bowel trouble; after the chicks have become accustomed to rt 
they may have all they want. Skimmed milk is not to be used as a 
substitute for water. 

Commercial milk albumen has been tried in an experiment in 
Cornell University, but in this case it did not give so good results as 
did skimmed milk. How far milk products may be substituted for 
meat scraps and meat meals in chicks feeding has not been proved, al- 
through in the test of seven methods of feeding chicks, referred to 
above, those chicks that had no milk ate 5 to IV2 per cent of their total 
food excluding green food in beef scrap, while those given a mash 
moistened with skimmed milk or a powdered milk solution ate only 4V2 
to 5V2 per cent of their total food in beef scrap. 

Green Foods 

Green foods are greatly relished by chicks and seem necessary to 
their best growth. These foods furnish wholesome nourishment at 
low cost and supply bulk to a chick ration without excess of fiber. 
Chicks should be given all the green food they will eat. After the first 
few days this is the best supplied by a grass run. Until the chicks 
can go out into the yards, green food should be furnished them. 

Lawn clippings are often obtainable in the summer. These are 
much relished, but they should be used when fresh and crisp. Fresh 
clover or alfalfa is very good; it should be shredded quite fine if given 
to the young chickens. The very young chickens are fond of fresh 
sod, chickweed, or lettuce, and they are able to pick off the tender 
leaves; lettuce, however, is often too expensive to use in this way. 
The older chicks enjoy the leaves and the blossoms of vetch. Sprouted 
oats are very good and may be provided at any time of the year. The 
following description of the process of sprouting grain is reprinted 
from Bulletin 284, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment 
Station: 

Sprouting Oats 

"The operation of sprouting grain as a green food requires con- 
siderable expense for labor. Sprouted grain, however, appears to have 
some advantages over other forms of green food, which justify the 
expense. This is particularly true in the feeding of young chickens 
during the season when they cannot have access to the ground. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



13 



"For sprouting", soak in warm water one ten-quart pail full of 
oats for 24 hours. Pour this grain on a tray. It will fill the tray level 
full. Sprinkle each trayful of grain with warm water each morning. 
The grain must be kept damp all the way through the mass if it is 
to sprout uniformly. The time required for the grain to sprout and 
grow will depend largely upon the temperature of the room, which, 
ordinarily, should be kept at 60 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or warmer. 
In a room not artificially heated, during the spring of the year, in 
this state, about seven to ten days are required to sprout the grain 
and grow the leaf about three inches high." 

For young chickens it is best to feed the grain when the top has 
reached a length of two inches; if allowed to grow longer the sprout 
is likely to become tough. Chicks , will eat both sprouts and 
roots, and they will eat the grain also as soon as they are large enough 
to swallow it. For the first week it is better to shred some of the 
material and scatter it over the food, so that all the chicks will learn 
to eat the green food. The sprouted grain may be cut in squares from 
the trays and placed in the pens, for the chicks to peck at. Care 
should be taken to give no more than will be eaten. 

The grain may be sprouted in shallow boxes or in well-drained 
flats kept in a living room, if needed for only a few chickens. 

Ash, Grit and Charcoal 

Growing chicks need a certain amount of mineral matter for use 
in bones, muscles, and feathers, consisting in large part of lime in 
some form. Ash is 
not supplied in suf- 
fient quantity by the 
grains and the 
green foods; in the 
natural environment 
the birds probably 
obtained it from the 
soil. Most grain 
foods contain less 
than one per cent of 
ash, while meat 
scrap and meat meal 
have 4 to 5 per cent; 
animal meal has 30 
to 40 per cent of 
ash, and bone meal 
and granulated bone 
bone contain 60 to 
75 per cent. That ad- 
ditional mineral 

lnnffAv i« noorlorl Ktt a shipment of chicks just received in splendid con- 

ma loci is neeueu vy dition from a hatchery many, many miles away. 




14 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

fowls was proved by experiments at the Cornell University Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station, where is was shown that the bones 
of fowls that were kept from the ground and deprived of addi- 
tional lime in the form of oyster shells, bone meal, and similar sub- 
stances, had much lower breaking strength than had those of other 
fowls kept under similar conditions but supplied oyster shells. Oyster 
shells do not seem to be desirable for young chickens, but the mineral 
matter needed may be supplied easily and cheaply in the form of bone 
meal or of fine granulated bone. The bone meal seems better for the 
younger chicks, and it may be given with the dry mash or with the 
moist foods. If granulated bone is used care should be taken that it 
contains no fine, sharp splinters, as these might injure the digestive 
tract of the chicks. 

A constant supply of grit seems necessary for the health of the 
chicks, and from the first meal this should be supplied in the food in 
such a manner that the chicks must find it. They will soon learn to 
look for it. Fine granulated charcoal should be included in the food 
because of its good effect on the health of the chicks. It seems to be 
a preventive of some digestive troubles. The chicks eat this material 
with great relish, and they may be given as much of it as they desire. 

Palatability of Food. 

If chicks are forced to eat food that is disagreeable to them, they 
will eat as little as possible. Such feeding soon results in slow growth 
and high mortality, especially if the stock is very young; an unpalat- 
able ration is therefore an expensive one, even though the first cost 
may be small. A single food material that the chicks do not relish 
may spoil the effect of an entire ration, particularly if the material 
is in a ground food mixture. Food that the chicks like is looked for 
eagerly and eaten with a relish, an active scramble often being an 
accompaniment of the meal. If a sufficient quantity is given so that 
the smaller chickens are not robbed of their share, all are benefited by 
the exercise. Eager anticipation is said to promote the flow of the 
digestive juices, thus aiding in the digestion of food. 

Variety Essential. 

Variety in a ration is essential for the following reasons: (1) It 
renders the food more palatable; (2) it is likely to result in a better 
supply of the material necessary for growth and for bodily main- 
tenance; (3) there is less danger of injury from overfeeding or from 
underfeeding the chicks. If chicks are given only one or two kinds 
of food, they are likely to become repelled by its sameness No one 
nor two foods will supply all the materials needed. 

Variety in a ration may be defined as the result of an effort to furnish 
all the necessary materials and conditions of food. For example; 
Chicks fed altogether on corn products would be given an excess of 
fat-forming materials, or carbohydrates, and would receive very little 
of the food elements required for the formation of bone, muscle and 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 15 

feathers; on the other hand, chicks fed entirely on beef scrap would re- 
ceive an excess of muscle-forming material, or protein, with too little 
of the food elements necessary for the production of fat, heat, and 
energy. In either case the chicks would be insufficiently nourished, 
even if they were given all they could eat. A combination of these 
foods would be more satisfactory, though the ration might still be 
lacking in bulk. In order to overcome this deficiency, some bulky 
food, such as bran or alfalfa meal, might be added. Either or both 
of the last mentioned foods would not make a particularly appetizing 
mash, and therefore, corn meal, and perhaps wheat middlings, should 
be supplied to render the ground food more tempting; and some bone 
meal should be added to make up the deficiency in ash. Chicks would 
tire of corn alone as a cracked grain, and so it should be mixed with 
wheat and perhaps with hulled oats. This ration would still be very 
dry and somewhat concentrated, and therefore green food should be 
supplied. 

Such a combination of materials as described would make a good 
variety of palatable foods, and not a large amount of any one food 
would be eaten. If there were not enough of one food there would 
probably be plenty of another, and the chicks would not become too 
hungry. If they did not have all the mash they could eat, and the lack 
were made up with cracked grain, they would not become cloyed 
with concentrated foods. 

Changes in Ration. 

Whenever it is desired to change from one food to another, the 
change should be gradual. To the original ration a little of the new 
food should be added, the proportion being increased at each feeding 
time until the change of ration will have been accomplished. If the 
new ration is a suitable one, the gradual change is likely to prevent 
any digestive trouble, which might otherwise occur. In case it is 
desired to give the chicks some concentrated food that they particul- 
arly like, such as green cut bone, only a very small quantity should 
be given at first, the amount being increased by slow degrees until 
the chicks are receiving as much of the food as it is advisable to 
give them. 

As chicks grow older, the number of feedings should be decreased. 
The number should not be dropped at once from five to three, but 
should be changed first from five to four, then from four to three, 
chicks in confinement being given for a day or two a little chopped 
onion or other well-liked food at the usual feeding time. This at- 
tention will prevent restlessness, and may avert serious trouble and 
loss from crowding, toe-pecking or other disturbance. 

Constant Supply of Clean Water. 

Fowls seem to crave a large quantity of moisture, especially whu* 
eating dry food or rations rich in protein. Serious results may fol- 
low if this moisture is not obtainable. It is often observed that when 



16 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

• 
hens are deprived of their water supply for even a short time, the 

subsequent loss in egg production is marked. The apparent effect 
of the growth of the chicks is not so immediate, but when once their 
water fountain becomes dry they will show their discomfort by con- 
stant efforts to drink. Chicks left too long in an incubator seem to 
suffer greatly from thrist. The water supply should be fresh, clean 
and constant, and should be furnished in vessels that will not allow 
the down of the chicks to become too wet. Drinking water may be 
supplemented, but not superceded by skimmed milk. 

The fountain should be large enough to contain at least a half- 
day's supply of water, sufficiently light to be handled easily, strong 
enough to be durable, of such a form that it may be washed and 
scalded without difficulty and will be easy to fill, large enough to en- 
able a considerable number of chicks to drink at the same time, and 
shaped so that the chicks cannot perch on it and foul the water. A 
serviceable drinking fountain may be made from a tomato can and 
pie tin. The tin should be large enough so that the space between 
its edge and the side of the can will permit the chicks to drink with 
ease. The open end of the can should be unsoldered and three or 
four notches cut in the edge, the notches being a little shorter than 
the depth of the pie tin. , The can may then be filled, covered tightly 
with the pie tin, and reversed. The water will rise in the tin to the 
height of the top of the notches. 

Access to Fresh Earth. 

Chicks appear to obtain from fresh earth something necessary to 
health, and they should be supplied with some fresh soil soon after 
they are removed from the incubator. Sand or dry earth does not 
satisfy the need. Fresh sod, a chickweed or a lettuce plant with a 
handful of soil on the roots, gives the right combination, supplying 
green food and earth and tempting the chicks to activity. 

Exercise Necessary. 

Healthy chicks in small pens and properly fed will grow very 
rapidly for the first week or ten days, but will of course get little exer- 
cise. They usually become restless at this age and appear anxious to 
get out of the brooder. If after two weeks they are removed to a 
larger run, it will be found that they are much weaker and less active 
than others of the same age that have been similarly fed but have 
had wider range. In most cases, the subsequent mortality is consid- 
erably higher in flocks that have been confined in small pens. 

When chicks are hatched early in the season it is often impossible 
to give them an outdoor run. An incentive to exercise must then be 
supplied. Cracked grain scattered in litter, a sod, a chickweed or some 
other green plant, or a block of sprouted oats will keep the chicks 
busy for some time unless they are having other foods in too great 
quantity. A small amount of onion or of fresh, lean meat, chopped 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



17 



fine, will be scrambled after and 
fought for as long as a scrap remains. 
Chicks kept in small yards, if al- 
lowed to become idle, are likely to 
develop bad habits, such as pecking 
one another's toes, pulling feath- 
ers, or crowding. Unless some- 
thing is otherwise materially wrong, 
any tendency to these vices may 
be broken up by attracting the at- 
tention of the chicks in another direc- 
tion and by keeping them occupied. 
If the tendency is allowed to become 
a habit, however, it will be hard to 
overcome. Active, busy, properly fed 
chicks do not ordinarily acquire bad 
habits, although they may crowd if 
the brooder is not opened early in 
the morning; and in their efforts to 
get out, there is danger that some 
may be trampled to death. 




A healthy looking baby duck- 
ling. 



Constant Care Important 

The rapid development of young chickens renders constant care 
and watchfulness of the utmost importance. Any slight appearance of 
discomfort or of drooping may be the first indication of a condition 
that will prove a menace to the flock. It is never safe to wait long 
for development; the cause of the wrong condition should be sought 
and remedied immediately — tomorrow may be too late to save the 
flock. 

By careful observation from the beginning, the person who feeds 
the chicks may learn to know them and will be able to detect at once 
a change in their condition that the casual observer would never see. 
For instance, carelessness in feeding may induce a light digestive dis- 
order. If the condition is observed at once, the evil may be corrected, 
while continued carelessness will cause serious loss to the owner. 
Persistent care and watchfulness will very often prevent trouble and 
loss. The removal of damp litter will obviate a menace to every chick 
in the brooder, as one of the common molds, aspergillus, adapts itself 
readily to the membrane lining the air passage and air sacs of the 
chicks, sometimes causing high mortality. 

It cannot be too strongly emphasized that untiring care is ab- 
solutely essential to the success of any method of chick, feeding. 
Young chicken are very small creatures and the loss of a few may 
seem a trifling matter; but in a flock of fifty, one chick is two per 
cent of the flock. Any method of feeding is expensive if it permits 
a high mortality. Vigilance will often greatly reduce mortality. 



18 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER THREE 




TOE PICKING AND CANNIBALISM IN CHICKS 

Cannibalism, Started By Toe Picking, Is Practically Incurable — Exist- 
ing in Most Cases Among Leghorn Chicks, This Fearful Habit Is 
Generally Caused By Crowded Quarters or Improper Diet — 
Feather Picking a Kindred Evil — Experiences of Breed- 
ers With Cannibalism and Their Treatments of Habit. 

By Campbell L. Cory. 

Unusual as it may seem, chickens, especially small chicks, some- 
times turn cannibal, and start eating one another, simply craving the 
taste of blood when once a taste is had. This habit is what many 
breeders term "Cannibalism." Each year, especially during the hatch- 
ing season, we receive reports from poultrymen who have had ex- 
perience with cannibalism, much to their sorrow. It is a serious habit 
to have any birds in your flock contract for the habit is practically 
incurable, and in some instances I know of breeders who have been 
forced out of the poultry business because of cannibalism among their 
birds. 

Feather picking among the older birds, and toe picking among the 
chicks, are kindred evils. A "feather picker" in your flock is, in a 
certain sense, a cannibal. This "feather picker" craves the taste of 
blood. If you notice any of your birds with any pullet feathers, you 
may know you have a "feather picker." Uusually feather picking 
starts blood on the victim, and this bloody bird becomes the prey of 
the whole flock. Just one "feather picker" may start the whole flock 
on cannibalistic tactics. 

Toe picking among chicks is another way cannibalism gets started. 
You have no doubt noticed the first thing baby chicks do when hatch- 
ed is to pick at one another's toes. Where a chicks is thus picked, a 
red spot is left and sometimes blood is drawn. If one little chick's toe 
starts to bleed, and the little hungry fellow get a taste of the blood, it 
is all off. 

Causes of Cannibalism 

I would naturally attribute the habit of cannibalism to some abnor- 
mal condition, such as the lack of some essential element of diet. 
Close confinement and unbalanced rations are sually the causes of 
feather picking, and likewise cannibalism. In toe picking however. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 19 

the funny part of it is the trouble seems to be inherent so that the 
chicks of each season naturally get to eating up each other. Canni- 
balism or toe picking, whichever you desire to call it in chicks, seems 
to be almost entirely confined to Leghorn chicks, and most generally 
brooder chicks. In fact I have never heard of the larger breeds con- 
tracting the habit. 

Of course very young chicks of all varieties will pick at each other 
for the first few days, and especially at each other's toes. This really 
doesn't do any harm, unless blood is drawn, or unless the habit is 
continued until the chicks get larger or old enough for the picking to 
cause injury. Then the trouble becomes serious and is difficult to over- 
come. Chicks and growing birds that are given plenty of free range 
are not so apt to get the cannibalism habit. Some breeders have at- 
tributed cannibalism to the lack of animal food, but I understand that 
ch'cks, given plenty or animal matter, seem to contract the habit just 
the same as those that are not. 

I know of a breeder, H. J. Blanchard, of Groton, N. Y., whom I un- 
derstand, was almost forced out of the poultry business at one time 
because his chicks each year insisted on eating up each other. Mr. 
Blanchard, so I understand, tried everything he could to stop the vice, 
but without avail. It was reported to me at one time that chicks had 
been seen at Mr. Blanchard's place with their legs eaten off clear up 
to their bodies. However, that was several years ago, and Mr. 
Blanchard is still in the poultry business on a large scale making a 
specialty of standard S. C. White Leghorns. 

Experience of Mr. Blanchard. 

In a letter, dated March 30, 1916, Mr. Blanchard reports his ex- 
perience with cannibalism: 

"I lost hundreds of chicks through cannibalism years ago. I tried 
all the cures and preventatives I knew, including the feeding of beef 
scrap, fresh meat, pork rinds, fish, etc., and by giving the chicks play- 
things in the shape of strips of leather, rubber, broken bits of crock- 
ery, or anything that would attract their attention. I also tried put- 
ting aloes or tar on the toes of those picked, but nothing seemed of 
much benefit. 

"The trouble finally became unbearable and I gave it considerable 
study. I found the habit was seldom acquired by small flocks, or larg- 
er flocks with plenty of room indoors or out. Large flocks or chicks 
in cramped quarters with a small yard was where the trouble usually 
was found. It spread with astonishing rapidity, and when thorough- 
ly learned was almost incurable. The only way to save the life of a 
chick, whose toes are being picked is to take it away from the flock 
at once and keep it away. I used to have a brooder to care for these 
victims by themselves, but if picked badly they didn't amount to much. 

"I finally came to the conclusion that the habit is "pure cussedness" 
developed by idleness and cramped quarters. I found the cure to be 



20 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

prevention. Give chicks plenty of brooder or house room when vary 
young, and as soon as possible get them outdoors on the grass. In- 
crease the size of the yard with their growth. As soon as safe give 
them free range, and they will have plenty of room to amuse them- 
selves and plenty to keep their attention away from each other's toes. 
I also found that dry mash before them at all times in a suitable hop- 
per helps to keep them busy and out of mischief while young." 

Buckeye Incubator's Experience. 

The Buckeye Incubator Company, Springfield, Ohio, prominent man- 
ufacturers of incubators, brooders, hovers and brooder stoves, always 
hatches thousands of eggs and broods thousands of chicks each spring 
in testing their various machines, but in all their incubating and brood- 
ing operations for years past this company had their first experience 
with cannibalism in chicks. 

Of course this cannibalism at the Buckeye plant was confined to one 
lot of chicks, and after the officials discovered that this particular lot 
of chicks had developed cannibalism they experimented with the habit, 
trying of course at the same time to stop the evil. The officials at 
the Buckeye plant tried everything imaginable in their efforts to over- 
come the taste for blood which these chicks had contracted. They fed 
beef scraps in liberal quantities and even tried feeding raw meat. 
Each day, too, the bloody chicks were removed, and to the suprise of 
the officials each day new bloody victims appeared. 

In a letter Mr. George Cugley, president of the Buckeye Incubator 
Company, gave a detailed report of their experience with cannibalism. 
Mr. Cugley's letter in full follows: 

"During the early part of January we made two very satisfactory 
hatches from some White Leghorn eggs that we procured from a 
prominent breeder here in Ohio, and the first hatch came off on Janu- 
ary 6th; the second on January 13th. 

"When the first lot of chicks were about five days old, we noticed 
that some of them had bleeding feet and an investigation showed 
that these chicks were picking each other's feet until they bled, and 
then a number of chicks would continue this picking process until a 
portion of the toe actually disappeared. 

"As soon as we understood the situation we started to remove the 
chicks that had been picked, fully expecting that the thing had been 
started by the little toes having been mistaken for a worm or some 
other food. We were surprised, however, to find that there were new 
victims every day, and in spite of everything we could do we were 
unable to stop it. 

Even Tried Raw Meat. 

"We tried feeding beef scraps in liberal quantities; then we tried 
raw meat, but neither had any effect. We also hung green food from 
the ceiling in order to attract the attention of the chicks from the 
floor, and finally, hung sheep plucks on the ceiling, and we not only 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 21 

did not succeed in stopping it, but by the time the chicks got to be 
three weeks old, they were picking holes in each other's backs just 
as though they had a craving for the taste of blood. 

"The writer has had a pretty wide experience with chickens and yet 
had never come in contact with anything of this kind, but upon mak- 
ing inquiry from some of the old experienced breeders, we find that 
this trouble has not been of unfrequent occurence, and has been term- 
ed "Cannibalism" by some of the breeders who have been affected 
with it. Through our inquiries we heard of one case where one of our 
most prominent Leghorn breeders, who had won scores of prizes at 
the largest shows in the country, was compelled to dispose of every 
bird he had on account of this trouble. We understand that his birds 
literally ate each other up, and he was compelled to start right at the 
bottom and build a new string because his old stock seemed to in- 
herit this trait from one generation to the other. 

"We kept some of these chicks until they were two months old be- 
fore disposing of them, and right up to the last day they continued 
their cannibalistic tendencies. We understand that this disease, if 
it should be so called, is more likely to occur in the lighter breeds 
than in the heavier breeds. As a matter of fact, all of the cases we 
could locate were confined to Leghorns and Minorcas. 

"We are enclosing a letter from Mr. Charles Heigl, of Rocky River, 
O., which is rather interesting. 

Chas. HeigPs Experience. 

We are also publishing in this connection the letter from Chas. 
Heigl, proprietor of Heigl's Poultry Farm, Rocky River, Ohio, which 
Mr. Cugley mentions in his letter, and in which Mr. Heigl also gives 
his experience with cannibalism. From his letter Mr. Heigl evident- 
ly caught the chicks just as they got started on cannibalism and by 
quick action checked the habit. Mr. Heigl gives some valuable in- 
formation on this subject in his letter which follows: 

"Am very sorry to hear that your chicks have started toe picking. 

"I had this trouble last year with one flock under a brooder stove. 
I caught them as they started. I took the chick, kept it away from 
the others, and in a few days it would be all right to put it back again. 
I was told to increase the litter, which was lake sand. I believe that 
it helped some, and I also split the flock in two so they had more 
room. 

"Perhaps you have noticed as soon as a bunch of baby chicks are 
hatched about the first thing they do is to pick at one another's toe. 
If the little chicks is not quick to move, it will leave a red spot, and 
the whole flock will pick at that spot and naturally start it to bleed. 
Once these little rascals see blood they are all at it. 

"Would advise the feeding of the chick food in litter and see that 
they have plenty of it, also a little sprouted oats, and once a day 
would feed them a dry mash with a little beef scraps in it. 



22 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



"Remove a weakling as soon as you see one, as they are the ones 
that are the cause as a rule." 

Chickens Turn Cannibal. 

The Colorado Agricultural College, in a recent report, publishes the 
following on cannibalism: 

"Did your chickens ever turn cannibal ? Many a poultryman has 
discovered old biddy denuded of feathers and was at a loss to account 
for her sudden lack of modesty. The feathers were pulled out by her 
pen mates, and often the pin feathers were picked out as fact as 
they appeared. When this vice becomes established,, chickens will 
go so far as to pick holes in one another, and woe unto the bird on 
whose body the blood is once started! 

"Toe picking is a kindred evil, but only among young chicks. They 
like the taste of blood and an injured toe is a source of attraction. 

"Close confinement and unbalanced rations are the usual causes of 
such vices. Both grown fowls and young chicks need green food, meat 
food and grit, and if these are provided, along with plenty of exercise, 
the conditions favorable for the formation of the above habits will not 
be present. 

"The best plan is to kill the confirmed feather pullers that go wild 
at the sight and taste of blood. In flocks kept under close confine- 
ment, the male birds are liable to have their neck feathers pulled. 
It will be found beneficial to rub the naked necks of such victims with 
carbolated vaseline." 




"The Big Mother" 

This immense Brooder House at a California poultry farm is one-eighth mile long-. 
It accommodates 20,000 chicks and makes them more comfortable than 1,700 mother hens. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



23 



CHAPTER FOUR 





MATURING THE CHICKS PROPERLY 

Breed from Strong, Rugged Parent Stock — Proper Feeding Necessary 
— Special Attention Given During Hot Weather — Provide Suffi- 
cient Room and Adequate Ventilation in Roosting Quarters. 

By W. R. Petty. 

April and May are the great months for chickens — the months in 
which the foundation of our next season's layers and prize-winners 
is built. Frequently, however, on account of the backwardness of the 
season, May and June are the months in which an unusually large 
number will be hatched. To make up for a part of this lost time it will 
be necessary to keep the little "peeps" growing from the time they 
receive their first feed till they are fully matured if we are to have 
good layers in the fall and winter, and birds sufficiently developed to 
enter the shows and win for their owners. 

Regardless of how well one — -— i 

cares for his chicks, it is al- 
most impossible to make 
favorable progress with them 
unless they have been prop- 
erly bred from strong, rug- 
ged parent stock. Through 
the breeding stock we build 
either for strength or weak- 
ness in the progeny. Start 
with a foundation of strength 
and it c<on alm(ost be de- 
pended upon to come out in 
the chick. It is with chicks 
from this kind that can be 
made to reach maturity at 
an early age. 

Commercial Feeds Better. 



Assuming the chicks are 
what they should be, the 
feeding of them is a simple 




This illustration shows a pure bred White 
Wyandotte female, which variety >« very 
popular. 



24 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

and easy matter. There are a number of good chick foods on the 
market, and these are so much better than any preparation we can 
make up that we feed commercial foods till the chicks are six or 
eight weeks old. 

We start by feeding dry bread crumbs slightly moistened with sweet 
milk and this is fed five or six times a day till the chicks are a week 
old, then we gradually change to chick food to which about 10 per 
cent steel cut oats is added, next, put a small box or hopper of a 
mixture of meals inside the brooder for the chicks to eat as they 
choose. 

They eat quite a good deal of it, and these small boxes or hoppers 
may need to be refilled a second time during the day. We would warn 
the novice in chick-growing to beware of chick foods that carry a heavy 
proportion of cracked corn. Corn seems to be a heavy food for the 
little fellows, for it contains too much fat forming elements for their 
delicate digestion, and they will not eat much of it if there is other 
food at hand. 

Oats for Growth. 

Oats is one of the very best of foods to make good growth in our 
chicks. Oat meats contain the best nutriment for making bone, muscle 
and flesh — not fat, but the strong flesh-fibres which make muscle. 
Give the babies good food if you want them to grow and thrive — and 
you do want them to thrive and grow if you want them to do good lay- 
ing next fall and winter, and to win the "blue" for you. 

If you skimp and save on the food, you have only yourself to blame 
if they make a poor growth through the summer. In growing the 
chicks we are foundation-laying, and it is up to us to see to it that a 
good foundation is laid. 

By the time the chicks are six or eight weeks of age they are put 
in little colony coops size 6x6 feet. They then range a good deal, are 
out of doors all. day long, and it is at this time that grains and a mash 
are kept before them all the time. 

The grains are made up of equal parts of wheat, oats and cracked 
corn, while the mash is composed of two parts good bran; three parts 
corn meal; and two parts middlings; one part linseed meal; one part 
beef scrap (sittedj); three-fourths part fine charcoal and one-fourth 
parfcsalt. *"i£rr. 

The hoppers in which these foods are fed are made double, one side 

for the mash and the other side for the mixed grains, and are large 

enough to hc.i a week's supply for 50 chicks. We do not wait a 

week before we refill the hoppers, however, for we look into them 

every day or two and if any are getting low they are filled. 
■ 

Green Food Provided. 

Green food of some kind must be provided the little fellows, if they 
cannot be gotten out onto tender growing grass; if they can have a 
grass run they will take care of the green-food problem. When a 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



25 



grass run is not available chop up an onion for them once a day or a 
piece of raw potato. 

Fresh water is given daily, and chick grit and granulated bone are 
kept in hoppers before them from the start. 

Occasionally we feed boiled wheat at noon which we find to be a good 
developer and the chicks relish it very much. 

During the hot sultry days of summer some kind of shade must be 
provided. If natural shade is not accessible to the chicks, a very 
good substitute can be made for them by planting sunflowers, Lima 
beans or a small patch of field corn. 

Too much stress can not be made against over-crowding the chicks 
at night. More chicks are stunted in this way than the average 
poultryman thinks, and is to be guarded against during the developing 
period. No amount of careful nursing in other respects can possibly 
offset the damage done to the youngsters when allowed to occupy 
coops of insufficient size that are inadequately ventilated. To obtain 
maximum results it is absolutely necessary to provide roomy quarters 
with an abundance of fresh air, then the food that is taken into the 
little chaps' bodies will do them some good. It goes without saying 
that the coops should be clean and sanitary at all times, and this is 
accomplished best by cleaning them out frequently, opening them up 
and letting the sun shine in, and disinfecting them once every week 
or ten days. It is with chicks that are thus cared for that we can de- 
pend on filling the egg basket next winter, to win in the show room, 
or command a premium on the market. 

With this system of feeding and care we have grown pullets that 
commenced to lay when hVz months old, and it is not uncommon 
to have cockerels weigh from 7 x /2 to 8 pounds when six months 
old. This last season we exceeded our records by producing a cock- 
erel when only 5 months and 3 weeks of age weighed exactly 8 pounds. 




This illustration shows a basket full of White Minorca eggs. 
Notice the large size and how pure white they are. Minorcas 
are noted for their large size eggs. 



26 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

CHAPTER FIVE 




SUGGESTIONS ON CARE OF CHICKS DURING SUMMER TIME 

Close Attention Necessary to Obtain Best Results — Must Be Fed and 
Watered Regularly and Guarded Against Many Ailments of Grow- 
ing Fowls — Mites and Lice Worst Enemies. 

Now, every flock of young chicks should regularly throughout the 
growing season be carefully guarded against certain enemies that are 
bound to attack it at this time, and I want to speak about a few of 
these matters in this chapter. 

We will assume that the chicks are provided with proper ventila- 
tion; that they have sufficient land to roam over and that they have 
constantly before them a sufficient amount of nourishing, well-balanc- 
ed rations. 

Fresh Water Essential. 

The first essential thing in addition to these necessaries is that the 
chicks should be guarded against thirst. 

I have seen flocks where all of the above essentials were present to 
the perfect satisfaction of the chicks, viz.: They were properly hous- 
ed, had plenty of free range, plenty of fresh air to breathe and 
more than enough food, but where it was evident at the first glance 
that all were suffering for a drink if given the opportunity, and 
fortunately chicks do not and cannot injure themselves drink- 
ing too much. It is, therefore, the first essential that pure 
water be kept before a flockifat all times. One of the worst 
things to do is to neglect to water at a proper time and then compel 
the chicks to get all their liquid for 24 hours at perhaps the end of 
the day. A chick should always know.where the water is and should 
always be able to get it, and if it is not provided it will suffer greatly 
for lack of it. A very excellent method of providing water on range 
is to attach to a\ butter tub an automatic device, which is sold by all 
supply dealers, whereby the water is syphoned out of the tub into the 
small receptacle and is constantly supplied as needed. A board or 
cover may J>e. placed over the tub and this will keep the water clean 
and cool, but whatever method is used, water must be provided in 
plenty. 

Lice. 

Perhaps the greatest enemy to growing chicks is the presence 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 27 

of lice. Chapter after chapter has been repeatedly written on this 
subject and even the various beginners must know by this time that in 
order to insure a quick, steady and healthy growth vermin must be 
kept off his fowls; colony houses must be regularly sprayed; chicks 
must be dusted. They must be provided with places where they can 
dust themselves and every precaution must be taken to keep these 
enemies off the yongsters. If this is not done puny, weakly, ill-looking 
and ill-feathered chicks will be found in plenty. 

Worms. 

Another one of the enemies of growing chicks and one whose pres- 
ence does not seem to be realized as it should is worms. 

I have been astounded to find that comparatively few poultrymen 
regularly treat their young flocks for worms. The breeder does not 
seem to understand why a number of his chicks do not feather out as 
they should; look pale in the faces and do not have the energy that 
they ought to display. Any breeder of live stock knows that he must 
keep worms away from his cattle and hogs and regularly treats them 
for these pests, but few poultry breeders seem to realize that chick- 
ens are subject to worms at all and do not take any steps whatever 
to rid their flocks of them. At least three times each season all flocks 
of young chicks should be treated for worms and the benefits of so do- 
ing will clearly show themselves after these treatments. 

Treatment for Worms. 

There are several ways of treating the chicks for these worms. One 
is to feed alone or in wet mash an abundance of fine-ground garlic 
and after this has been fed for a few days to follow with a dose of 
epsom salts. Another method and one somewhat easier is to give 
doses of worm powders such as are used for hogs or horses. This 
treatment will be found effectual and is as good as any other. 

The use of turpentine fed with some material to which it will cling 
is also good. The turpentine is used in connection with chopped 
meat, liver or other material which the chickens will greedily devour. 
Detailed instructions if required for the use of these remedies can be 
obtained by anyone by applications to their experiment station and 
no one should endeavor to mature a flock of chicks in any season with- 
out resorting to worming his chicks at regular intervals. 

Lack of Green Food. 

Another thing that retards the proper development of a flock of 
chicks is the lack of green food. 

Ordinarily young chicks are raised on free range, and if such be the 
case they will generally provide themselves with all the green food 
they require and the amount that each chick will consume in a day 
is certainly astonishing. 

A number of flocks are raised in confinement yards, and if this 



28 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS ■ 

is the case they will very soon either entirely destroy or else render 
unpalatable every bit of green growth in these enclosures. Under 
such circumstances it is absolutely essential to provide an adequate 
amount of succulent greens. 

Feed Plenty of Greens. 

They cannot be overfed in this respect and it is the duty, therefore, 
of every raiser to see that his chicks get the opportunity to consume 
daily and regularly the amount of green vegetable matter that their 
systems require. A very little work on the outside of the runs will 
supply plenty of this green food. A lot of it will come from over 
ripe or over grown garden truck. Fresh lawn clippings will supply 
these wants in many cases, but whatever be the source of supply it 
must be regular and abundant or the flock will show ill effects of lack 
of green food. 

There is nothing new, strange, startling or peculiar about the mat- 
ters referred to in this chapter and yet as often as they have been 
spoken of I find that in many yards and with many breeders they are 
neglected, and I also find that regularity in the doing of all of these 
things is almost as important as the doing of them at all. There 
is no use in watering chicks one day and forgetting it the next. There 
is very little benefit in keeping the yards full of green food for two 
or three days and then forgetting it for a week No permanent bene- 
fits will result from looking after the lice in June, but failing to do so 
in July, August and September. Chickens must be raised in a methodi- 
cal, regular and consistent manner in order to have them reach that 
maturity of which they are capable, and any one who is apt to be 
called away from his duties with the chicks or is not regular in his 
habits or painstaking and conscientious in what he does had better 
not start in the chicken business. 

I will admit that the task of powdering a considerable flock of chicks 
is not a pleasant one. There is nothing exilarating or exciting about 
it. The "chore" of carrying water, of cleaning the water basins, of 
regularly filling the dry mash hoppers and, indeed, of spraying the 
coops are none of them as pleasant or as easy as sitting on the front 
piazza in the cool breezes, but their irksomeness and monotony are al- 
ways relieved by the thought that they are the things which will 
benefit the birds and the things which are essential and necessary to 
be done in order to achieve any success and, therefore, as every 
poultry breeder and raiser is anxious to turn out the best flock that 
he can he will forget the unpleasant things that he has to do when 
he finally sees his big rugged, well developed flock in the fall. 




SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



29 




TER SIX 




SUCCESS WITH WHITE LEGHORN CHICKS 

By S. J. Schenk, Manager Puritas Springs Poultry Farm, Route 2, 

Berea, Ohio/ 

A day or two before your chicks hatch get your brooder ready. Get 
the temperature up to about 95 degrees. This temperature should be 
right above the chicks backs. If the chicks move close up against 
the stove you will then know that the temperature is too low. If 
the chicks move too far away from the stove you will then know that 
the temperature is too high. 

Have fresh air in your brooder house but be careful that there is 
no draught on the chicks. It is best to place hardware cloth around 
the brooder stove so that chicks cannot stray too far away from the 
stove and get chilled. After the chicks are two days old they will 
then know where to find warmth then take hardware cloth away and 
let the chicks have the whole space of the brooder house.. 

Giving Chicks First Feed 

A chick should not be fed until 24 to 72 hours old, the first food 
should consist of a mixture of one part bran and two parts rolled oats 
by weight. Mix together and feed dry. Feed this mixture on a 









. 




/"~ j^M||lk 


1 ; ; — — 




aH l^^b_*^^rifli 



A typey S. C. White Leghorn Male and Female, one of the most popular 
varieties in the United States today. 



30 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

board or boards big enough to accommodate all the chicks at one 
time. 

A few hours before you feed the chicks for the first time place 
water before them in chick founts, also chick size grit or sand and 
fine charcoal in separate boxes. Chicks will drink much water and 
eat a lot of the grit and charcoal which will do them good. 

Lay the boards on the floor and scatter this mixture of bran and 
rolled oats all over the boards. Then tap on the board with your 
finger. This will draw the chicks' attention and the wise ones will 
come on the board to investigate the noise. After you have quite a 
few chicks on the board then walk away slowly and stand a distance 
away from the feeding board. After you are out of the way most of 
them will come on the board to see what is there to eat. 

After the chicks are on the board 10 minutes take the board away. 
If some of the chicks do not go on the board at the first meal, let 
them alone, they will learn to eat when you feed the next time. Feed 
this same mixture every two or three hours of the day for the first 
three days. Always take the board away from them after they eat 
for ten minutes. 

If any of the chicks are timid and stand around pick them up 
gently and place them on the board with the rest of the chicks. They 
will see them eating and will soon be eating too. Never try to force 
a chicks to eat, just show them where it is and if they are healthy 
chicks, bred from healthy stock, they will soon learn how to eat. 

Change Feed Third Day 

Fresh water should be supplied two or three times a day. After 
the third day omit the bran and rolled oat mixture and feed the fol- 
lowing small grains; two parts wheat cracked chick size, two parts 
corn cracked chick size and one part pin head oats, by weight, or 
feed any of the advertised commercial chick feeds. This chick feed 
consists of grains of a balanced ration cracked chick size. Scatter this 
grain in finely cut straw or other litter, but never use sawdust, be- 
cause the chicks wilf eat it and die. Scatter this chick feed in the 
litter four times a day. This compels the chicks to exercise, keeps 
them healthy and prevents leg weakness. 

Good judgement should be used so that chicks are not overfed. 
If there are any grains left in the litter at feeding time then -skip 
that feed and let them eat up clean all the grains that are still in 
the litter. There is one fault with certain kinds of commercial chick 
feeds. Some of them contain too many weed seeds and some contain 
grains that the little chicks will not eat. Some of the standard brands 
are O. K. You will notice this, if you look in the litter after you feed. 
The grains, that they do not like, will still be in the litter and you 
will find no grains in the litter that they do like, unless you are over 
feeding them. The secret in raising chicks, is always keep them a 
little bit hungry. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 31 

Sprouted Oats Good 

Beginning on the third day also feed the chicks sprouted oats. 
Chicks relish sprouted oats more than any other green food, once a 
day about noon. Feed all that they will eat or clean up in about 15 
minutes. The chicks will not take to sprouted oats the first time you 
give it to them, but after the first or second time they get it, they 
will fight for it. , 

Sprouting oats is very simple. Take boxes, cans or pails. Punch 
the bottom full of holes with a nail or ice pick. First soak some oats 
in water over night and in the morning fill the boxes, cans, or pails 
about three quarters full of these soaked oats. Sprinkle these oats 
twice every day with water and in about 5 or 7 days you will have 
oats with sprouts an inch long. This is when to feed it. You can 
sprout oats without an oat sprouter in any basement or room that 
holds a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees, although a regular oats 
sprouter is more convenient. 

On the fifth day a growing mash should be placed before the 
chicks. At this age the chicks have learned to eat and will not eat 
too much mash. A growing mash, placed before them all the time in 
hoppers or boxes, keeps the chicks more even in growth. This mash 
is made as follows: 30 lbs. bran, 20 lbs. middlings, 10 lbs. corn meal and 
10 lbs. sifted beef scraps, or you can buy any ready-mixed growing 
mash such as "Full-O-Pep," Conkeys, or Blatchfords. From now on 
until the chicks are five weeks old feed the grain three times a day, in- 
stead of four times, morning, noon and about two hours before dark. 

Never allow chicks to have free range until they are about five 
weeks old, because, if a rain storm comes up suddenly, the chicks will 
get confused and they will pile up together outside and drown. In- 
crease the chick run gradually. Keep chicks inside when it is rain- 
ing. A good idea is to train your chicks to come in the house when 
you whistle. They will learn it in a few days, if you will always 
whistle right before you feed them. 

Toe Picking Habit 

Some times chicks form the habit of toe picking. In this case al- 
ways remove the chick that is toe picked or else the others will kill 
it. Put some Zenoleum or carbolated vaseline on the sore part, keep 
the chick away from the rest and it will soon be alright. After the 
sore toe is healed, you can then put it back with the rest. 

If chicks get in the habit of sleeping in the corner take straw and 
pile it up high in each corner, and if the chicks still persist in sleeping 
in the corner let them do so. When the straw is piled up high in 
each corner they will not injure or smother each other, but be sure 
and renew straw often. Also spray the brooder house at least once a 
month. Scald and disinfect the drinking founts about once each 
week. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 



32 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



Scratch Feed At Five Weeks 

After the chicks are 4 or 5 weeks old gradually substitute large 
grains in the place of the small chick size grains, namely whole wheat, 
cracked corn and whole oats, or any commercial ready mixed scratch 
feed. After chicks are two or three months old feed them the same 
as laying stock. For grain mixture feed them: 100 pounds wheat, 100 
pounds cracked corn, and 50 pounds oats. Feed this twice a day in 
litter about 4 to 6 inches deep. Feed little in morning and feed all 
that they will eat about two hours before dark. Also keep a dry mash 
in open hoppers before them all the time. This mash is made as follows: 
300 pounds bran, 200 pounds middlings, 200 pounds corn meal, 200 
pounds ground oats, 200 pounds beef scraps, 50 pounds charcoal and 
11 pounds table salt. 

Keep oyster shells grit and charcoal before the stock all the time. 
Also feed sprouted oats every day about noon, all the stock will eat 
up clean in about 30 minutes. 




The Home Hover 

An ideal hover for baby chicks manufacturer by The Prairie State Incubator Co. 
122 Main St., Homer City, Penna. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



33 



CHAPTER SEVEN 




RAISING BROWN LEGHORN CHICKS 

By H. V. Tormohlen, Portland, Indiana, Originator Famous Everlay 
Strain Single Comb Brown Leghorns. 

Of all the pleasant tasks connected with raising and keeping 
Brown Leghorns, that of caring for the newly hatched chicks is the 
most pleasant. In fact the whole year starts with that eventful time 
and everything dates from hatching time. And of all the different 
varieties of chickens, it seems to me the Brown Leghorn chicks are 
the easiest to care for and raise. Possibly it is because they are so 
hardy, and they are, because they are so near like nature's own fowl. 
They, of all the varieties of Standard bred poultry, approach the old 
jungle fowl the nearest. Indeed Artist Arthur Schilling, who has 
made a study of the matter and Frank Piatt, editor and author, both 
declare the markings are most strikingly alike. And so it is that the 
baby chicks of the Brown Leghorns are the most beautiful of all the 
chicks in the realm of chickdom. They are so alert, vibrating with life 
and nervous energy, ever ready to dart under the protecting shelter 
of old mother's wing or in the grass, or what not, away from the un- 
friendly hand or hawk or other marauder. 

In the first place Brown Leghorn eggs are very fertile, so strong- 
ly fertile in fact that the loss through infertile eggs is negligible. And 
the fertile eggs are so strongly fertile that you can count on most 
every fertile egg hatching whether you place them under old mother 
hen or in some good incubator. 

A Bushel Of Fun 

Of all the fun, of all the delight, that of taking Brown Leghorn 




Such S. C. Brown Leghorn chicks as these have made H. V. Thormohlen's Everlay Strain famous 



34 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

chicks, so cunning, so active, so coy out from under old mother hen 
or from the protecting incubator. But it is then that care should be 
taken to start the chicks off right. So many become impatient and 
remove the chicks from the nest or incubator too soon. Others make 
the mistake of handling the chicks too often while the hatch is on. 
It is well to keep the shells removed from the nest and incubator 
alike but one should move quick when doing this to prevent the incu- 
bator cooling off too suddenly and chilling the chicks and from fret- 
ting the old hen until she mashes some of the chicks. 

Some like to remove chicks to a basket lined with an old wool 
blanket and kept near the stove but I feel that the heat is not suffi- 
cient and steady enough here to make it safe for these little balls of 
fluff at this critical time when nature dictates they should remain 
warm as well as quiet for 36 to 48 hours. 

Nature has provided for this period of inactivity by supplying the 
remaining part of the yolk of the egg which will be found inclosed 
within the abdomen of the chick for this very purpose and which is 
absorbed during the first week. So the chick suffers little from a 
lack of food and underfeeding should be the watchword rather than 
overfeeding. 

How And When To Feed 

How and when should I feed is the ever asked question by those 
unaccustomed to raising chicks. At one time I thought my way was 
the best, only real, way but since that time I have found those who 
have nlade a success raising chicks although they violated every rule 
I thought necessary to follow in bringing up chicks "in the way they 
should go." 

Plenty of warmth, whether in brooder or under hen should be 
the first watch word. Then try to follow nature's way as near as pos- 
sible. Nature never provides for the baby quail or other wild fowl 
whole dry grains to eat. Not at all. The grains found in the spring-time 
are soft water-soaked particles of protein already beginning to swell 
with life and ready to sprout. It is these choice morsels that the 
mother, left to herself, snatches up from under the leaves and dead- 
ened grass. So use caution in feeding grains of any kind. Not that 
the chicks should not soon have grains but the manner in which they 
are fed. We have found that one of the nicest ways to feed chick 
grains is to soak them 12 to 24 hours in sour or buttermilk. They are 
then predigested and even a step better than the grains found out in 
the leaves and grass. 

Conkey's or Blatchf ords 

We feed hard-boiled eggs the first day or two crumbled up in sand. 

V We keep a liberal supply of bran and charcoal near-by in a chick hop- 

per. And in another hopper we keep some of Conkey's or Blatchford's 

chick meal mash. In fact we could not very well raise chicks without 

one or the other of these two splendid chick feeds. In fact we like 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



S5 



to feed Blatchford's until they are well grown and we believe it is as 
economical and satisfactory mash as we can find. Feeding a well 
balanced chick mash like Conkey's or Blatchford's solves many of the 
problems connected with chicks. 

The first week we moisten the mash and feed it moist two or 
three times a day in addition to keeping a supply of the dry before 
them. Then at about the end of the first week we begin feeding the 
soaked chick grain or wheat screening and cracked corn, equal parts 
to them twice or three times a day. After the third week we make 
the last, feed at night of dry grains, as it is then time to commence to 
develop the digestive organs for the sterner duty of building up a 
strong body and husky frame. 

We supply sprouted oats for green food when it is too early to 
turn out on the sod and just as soon as the chicks desire it they have 
all the liberty they want to roam here and there, in the clover, alfalfa 
or corn or pasture and with such a variety and such care-free life is 
it any wonder they grow into Garden winners and world egg record 
makers ? 



Thousands of poultry raisers in all 
sections of the country have been 
using the Standard Colony Brood- 
er with wonderful success and 
highly endorse it. 



The Standard is a de- 
pendable, self-feeding, 
coal burning stove that 
supplies regular, ade- 
quate, life giving heat to 
chicks every hour of the 
24. Easily operated at a 
low cost. 




You can brood chicks by the hundreds if you use the Standard Colony Brooder, manufactured 
by the Buckeye Incubator Co., 18 Euclid Ave., Springfield, Ohio, and sold on a strong money- 
back guarantee. 



36 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER EIGHT 




WHY I LIKE BUFF LEGHORNS 

By F. S. Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, President of American Buff 

Leghorn Club. 

The Single Comb Buff Leghorn, in my estimation, is the greatest 
of the Leghorn family. In the first place, you can feed five hundred 
on what you would give three hundred hens of the larger breeds, and 
they will lay at least seventy-five eggs more in one year than any of 
the American breeds. But we often hear the market man say: "I 
can get seventy-five cents for my Rocks on market and can only get 
fifty cents for the Buff Leghorn." But that is just where he makes a 
mistake. 

Say his Rock hen lays eleven dozens of eggs in a year at an 
average of 25 cents per dozen, or $2.75 for the year, and he sells her 
for 75 cents, getting in all $3.50 for her and the eggs. Your Buff 
Leghorn will lay sixteen dozens eggs, at 25 cents per dozen will make 
you $4.00 for the eggs and you can sell her for 50 cents, making a 
total of $4.50. So you can plainly see you are $1.00 ahead by having 
the Buff hen and you can keep her at least 25 cents cheaper, so you 
make by having the Buff $1.25. 

And remember, it is much easier to sell hens for 50 cents than it 
is to get 75 cents, or in other words, when you leave the market you 
have sold out. And I find there is not a nicer, cleaner chicken than the 
Buff. You can confine therm on a city lot and they will always look 
clean and nice. They are a fine fowl and not coarse, as their meat 
is gamey, and the Buffs are the greatest layers in the world, especially 
in the winter, when eggs are high. 

How I Raise So Many 

I often have fanciers call on me and say: "Smith, how do you 
raise so many Single Comb Buff Leghorns?" So I will let you, my 
Buff friends, in on the plan. I start hatching my Buffs in December 
and get my stock out early. After the chicks are three or four weeks 
old I let some good farmers have them in lots from 300 to 1,000 to 
raise on the shares. I receive half he raises the first of October, and 
in each, case I am to have the pick, but I take half of the cockerels 
and half the pullets. To make a long story short, I get all the best 
marked birds and leave the culls behind. The farmer in getting the 
chicks early has plenty of time to give them good care, and when 
his busy season is on, the Buffs are out of danger and can shift for 
themselves. That is why my birds are large and strong. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 37 



CHAPTER NINE 




5&&1 




SECRETS OF SUCCESS IN RAISING MINORCA CHICKS 

By Lloyd C. Mishler, Route 7, North Manchester, Ind. 

Before entering into the actual raising of Minorca chicks, there 
are several things I believe it essential to mention in regard to the 
breeding stock. From an exhibition view point in mating the fowls 
from which you expect to raise your chicks, care should be taken to 
counterbalance the faults in one sex as near perfection as possible 
in the other sex, or a defect of opposite character. To illustrate the 
latter point, suppose the male has a tendency to have a little white in 
face. This shows that the breeding for pure white lobe has been 
carried a little too far, and this male should be mated to hens, which 
have a little red in earlobes, or dirty colored lobes. 

From a utility point of view, care must be taken that the birds in 
the breeding pen have good Minorca shape, for the Minorca fowl is 
blessed in having a standard shape requirement of body, which is 
recognized as an ideal egg type. The pelvic measurement of the fe- 
males should be good but the test for males on which we place the 
most dependency is the thinness of pelvic bones at points. 

The breeding stock should have had a healthy past, especially 
in the way of digestion and liver troubles and tuberculosis. I con- 
sider these troubles much more serious than a cold. Breeding stock 
with overgrown combs that cover nostrils should not be used. 
Incubator Chicks Strong As Hen Hatched 

I do not feed my chicks until they are 60 or 72 hours old. They are 
however given sour milk or water to drink in the meantime. We usually 
leave them in a basket or day old chix shipping box until they are at 
least 24 hours old, if it is necessary that they be removed from under 
hen or from incubator. I prefer to let them remain in nest or incubator 
until they are at least 24 hours old. In this connection I will say 
that I find incubator hatched chicks just as strong and easy to raise, 
and the pullets make just as good egg records, as the chicks which are 
hen hatched. Minorca eggs being a little larger than other eggs, and 
hence the germ of the egg farther from the bottom of tray of incu- 
bator and nearer the source of heat, care must be taken not to over- 
heat the eggs in the start when incubator is used. 

We use the coal burning brooder hover and find them much more 
satisfactory than any other method of brooding we have tried and 
much better than any of the blue flame oil burning heaters which have 



38 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 




A bunch of Mishler's husky Black Minorca chicks ready for shipment. 
Notice the coloring on these chicks almost black, with a dash of dirty 
white. But they will feather out pure black with plenty of green sheen. . 

come on the market the last few years. The coal burning brooder 
gives much better ventilation, and while they apparently have more 
labor connected with running them than an oil burner, on account of 
taking care of ashes and refilling with coal, yet we find the oil burners, 
after being used a while, give a lot of trouble by smoking at unex- 
pected times, and with no apparent reason. The chimneys crack and 
cause trouble. It is not safe to trust a bunch of chicks with one of 
them unless you have an extra chimney on hand ready to use. 
Straw Litter Best For Minorca Chicks 

We cover the floors of the colony houses with gravel and straw. 
Clover chaff we find is not good for using on brooder floors for Min- 
orca chicks. The toes of Minorca chicks are usually flesh colored, when 
young and when dark clover chaff is used there is more trouble with 
the chicks picking each others toes. This seldom happens when light 
colored straw is used. 

The first week or ten days the chicks feed consists of steel cut 
oats, finely cracked corn and cracked wheat, the latter two prepared 
on our own grinder. While many people advocate that there is a 
danger of over feeding and that the chicks should be fed sparingly 
yet often our practice is to give the chicks their first feed in the 
evening, and then place a supply of feed in shallow boxes. From that 
time on we keep feed before them all the time. When the chicks are 
about ten days old they are allowed a dry mash composed of finely 
ground corn and oats, wheat bran, wheat middlings and meat scraps, 
each one part. This mixture is varied somewhat depending on the 
different prices of the different articles, and when prices are not too 
high I usually add one portion of gluten meal and one half part of oil 
meal. If the latter is high in price at the time, I use it only in the 
mash of the chicks which are beginning to grow their new feathers. 

For green feed we use clipped oats sprouts, or alfalfa meal in 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 39 

the dry mash. I prefer the former. In place of the meat scraps I 
really prefer dried buttermilk if I can obtain it. 

Plenty of Fresh Air 

The chicks have access to the grains at all times and as the chicks 
grow the grains are left coarser. In cold weather the drinking foun- 
tains are placed near the hover so that the water is kept warm. We 
make no effort to keep the colony house warm all over. In fact, in 
ordinary winter weather water will freeze in the outer parts of the 
colony house, as we leave a good sized opening practically all the 
time. We only want sufficient heat to keep the chicks from crowding. 

We believe that too many make the mistake of closing up build- 
ing too tight and heating the entire building too much. To develop 
properly, the chicks should be able to get to a cold place when they 
wish. Usually we allow the chicks to run outside after they are a 
week or ten days old, no difference how cold it is, or even if there is 
some snow on the ground. We do not believe in hot-house pampered 
chicks for breeders. 

We usually do not begin special feeding to produce good exhibi- 
tion color, until the chicks are at least three months old, or some time 
before they begin getting their adult coat of feathers. From that 
time we feed nothing but white corn in dry mash and as a grain. Also 
we place a larger proportion of ground oats in the dry mash after the 
chicks arrive at broiler age and discontinue the steel cut oats. 

Oats Produces Green Sheen 

When our special feeding for color of plumage begins we feed 
the chicks all the soaked oats they want, keeping some of this before 
them all the time. This may be either whole or ground. Oats is an 
excellent feed for growth and for producing a good green sheen. 
A little tincture of iron added to the drinking water is not only health- 
ful but will help carry the black pigment out to the tips of wings 
so that those feathers will come in black. 

Many good birds are spoiled in plumage because of over crowd- 
ing on roosts or lack of roosts. Plenty of roosts, and I prefer three 
inch widths for young birds, should be provided. Ventilation without 
drafts should be provided in the colony houses so that the chicks will 
not sweat on hot summer nights. 

We always like to get our young stock moved into winter quarters 
early and make a final culling at this time. At broiler age, all males 
not wanted and any females not showing up properly should be sold. 
Any fowl not making a steady rapid growth should be weeded out as 
soon as noticed giving the room to the best fowls. 

Owing to our inability to supply the demand for Rose Comb 
Black Minorcas we have to begin hatching in December and January 
and continue until July, and our methods must vary somewhat accord- 
ing to the time of year, but we have endeavored to give our methods 
as followed at the usual hatching time of the year. 



40 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER TEN 




CARE OF ANCONA CHICKS 

By E. T. Jacobs, New London Hatchery, New London, Ohio, Formerly 
Manager of Hartman Poultry Farm, Columbus, Ohio. 

We never move our chicks from incubator under 60 hours. When 
the chicks begin to hatch we see to getting the hover in shape and 
properly heated to 95 degrees at outer edge of canopy, as we use colony 
hovers. We think chicks can adjust themselves to the proper heat 
they require, as they can move up closer on cold nights and get back 
if stove should get too worm. 

If the wind should raise during the night, the stove is sure to 
have a better draft and heat always runs up. Too much heat is sure 
to injure your chicks to a certain extent, as well as letting them get 
too cold. More chicks are lost through improper brooding than 
through improper feeding. 

No Feed Until 60 Hours Old 

After our brooder is properly heated and regulated, we place 
plenty of fine sand around brooder, and as soon as the chicks are 
about 60 hours old we place them under the hover. We always do 
this in the morning. We allow them to scratch and dig in the sand and 
grit for 3 or 4 hours, then we give them some good baby chick mash 
(dry). We place this in shallow pans about 4 inches wide and 15 to 
18 inches long, and 1 inch deep. 

We used one pan to each 30 or 35 chicks and we see that the chicks 




The above cut represents a group of Sheppard's Famous Ancona Baby Chicks. 
This above cut is loaned thru the courtesy of H. Cecil Sheppard, Box 4, Berea, Ohio. 






SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



41 




Another type of brooder stove very popular 
with poultry raisers. Manufactured by the New- 
town Giant Incubator Corporation, 35 Warsaw 
St., Harrisonburg, Va. 



get around the pan to eat. 
So many chicks do not 
get the proper amount to 
eat, when they are raised 
in large numbers. We see 
that all have an equal 
chance for we believe if 
we get our chicks started 
right our troubles are 
practically over. 

Dry Mash For Four Days 

We also place before 
them plenty of fresh 
water, sour milk or butter 
milk in some kind of a 
vessel so that they can 
get all they want to drink 

without getting wet. We keep them on the dry mash ration for 3 or 
4 days before allowing them to have any chick scratch feed. Then 
we begin by giving about one-half scratch feed and one-half dry 
mash. The scratch feed we scatter in the litter on the brooder floor, 
keeping dry mash, plenty of clean fresh water or milk and grit before 
them all the time. 

When chicks are 5 to 6 weeks old, we commence to give them 
coarse chick scratch feed, and when three and one-half months old we 
give them the same feed as our laying hens. 

We always pay strict attention to the sanitary condition of the 
brooders and pens and see that they are always cleaned and disin- 
fected regularly. It is impossible to raise chicks in brooders or pens 
that are not kept strictly clean and sanitary. 

I raise from 4,000 to 6,000 chicks each year with the best of re- 
sults under this method of feeding and brooding. 




A pen of money-making ducklings. 



42 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 




HOW TO RAISE WHITE ROCK CHICKS 






By U. R. Fishel, Hope, Ind. 

As we desire newly-hatched chicks to develop fast and mature 
early into profitable fowls, it is absolutely necessary that from the 
very beginning they be cared for in a thorough and systematic manner. 
Inattention and neglect at this period avenge themselves bitterly at the 
time we expect profitable results. Of course, it is not necessary to 
go too far with this and overdo it. It is not best to bother about 
them at all during the first two days of their existence. What they 
need most at this time is warmth and rest, and the old mother hen 
knows more about this part of the business than any fancier ever 
knew. If chicks that are to be raised in a brooder are similarly treated 
there will be fewer losses. 

Nature has pro- 
vided the young 
chick with suffi- 
cient food to last 
it during the first 
two, or even three 
days of its life. 
Nearly every 
poultry bree d e r 
knows this, or 
has at least read 
about it in the 
poultry pa p e r s, 
yet there are 
very few who do 
not make the 
mistake of feed- 
ing them in spite 
of the danger connected with it. They are somewhat astonished when, 
after two or three weeks they see their little chicks standing around 
as if they were already tired of life. Their little, but over developed 
wings are dragging on fne ground and they are shivering and peeping 
without enough energy to even feed themselves untiJ they begin to 




The color of White Plymouth Rock chicks varies from a 
very dark smutty color, almost black sometimes, to pure 
white, so don't worry about the color of your chicks, for 
they will feather out white, if pure bred. The above il- 
lustration shows some of U. R. Fishel's sturdy electrically 
hatched chicks. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 43 

die off in bunches, and it is found that bowel trouble, produced by- 
forced unnatural feeding, is the cause of it all. 

The same thing occurs with human beings. Thousands of babies 
die on account of malnutrition, produced by the same reckless manner 
of feeding. As stated above, the yolk which the baby chick absorbs 
just before leaving the shell, contains sufficient nourishment for two 
or three days. It contains also enough fluid matter to enable the chick 
to live without water during this period. 

As nearly all water contains some kind of mineral, salts or other 
matter, it is best to boil it before giving it to the chicks, at least dur- 
ing the first week, after that, buttermilk is a good substitute until 
they are three weeks old. As an excellent food during the first week 
or ten days, hard boiled eggs mixed with dry bread crumbs and cracked 
wheat cannot be beaten. Keep plenty of grit and charcoal before 
them at all times. It is absolutely necessary that the chicks be pro- 
tected from rain and draughts and that a good dry place be provided 
for them, or leg weakness and rheumatism will quickly develop. 

The Brooder 

The brooder is either a death trap to the little chicks or the mak- 
ing of it possible for you to rear the chicks after they are hatched. 

Never buy a cheap brooder, for, why kill your chicks after spend- 
ing three weeks' time hatching them? Do not keep your chicks too 
warm. The first few days the temperature in the brooder should be 
held at one hundred, then gradually lowered, after this until the end 
of the third week, at about eighty degrees. Use your judgment along 
this line, for a whole lot depends an outside weather conditions and 
the place in which you have your brooder. 

The one main thing to remember is that more chicks are killed 
by being kept too warm than by being chilled to death. 

Many chicks have been reared successfully without any heat, 
by the use of tireless brooders, also many have been reared by the plac- 
ing of a jug of hot water in a box, permitting the chicks to hover 
around the jug for the heat required. This is proof enough they must 
have plenty of fresh air and not too much heat. 

Baby Chicks 

A great many persons much prefer to buy newly hatched or baby 
chicks, rather than eggs for hatching. To accommodate our customers 
we are furnishing baby chicks in any number desired. Chicks are sent 
by parcel post properly boxed in light paper boxes. 

On the chick's arrival place in your brooder and feed. Keep 
charcoal and coarse sand before them at all times, also water — soft 
or rain water if possible. 

As the chicks grow older increase the amount of feed and feed 
them along the plan described. 

Care Of Chicks 

It is very hard to lay down a set of rules as to the care of chicks, 



44 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 




A pair of Vitality- 
strong and healthy. 



Chicks that look 



as different locations, climates, 
seasons, feed, etc., have a great 
deal to do with the success of 
rearing incubator chicks. 

When the incubator is through 
hatching we remove the egg 
trays and leave the chicks in 
the incubators at least twenty- 
four hours we remove them to 
the brooder which we have pre- 
pared by covering the floor with 
a thin layer of sand and some 
fine cut straw under the hover. 
We have placed in the brooder 
a small pan of fine granulated 
charcoal, also one of chick grit. 
We also keep before the chicks 
at all times drinking water, soft or rain water being the best. 

We feed the chicks nothing for the first two days they are in 
the brooder, after that feed every hour, but very sparingly. Scatter 
thin in the sand and litter, making the little fellows learn to work 
for living. Do not overfeed, for this sure means death to your chicks. 
After a few days, or when your chicks are nicely started, you can 
feed them table scraps or stale bread soaked in milk, in fact, almost 
anything from the kitchen will be good for them, but remember, grit, 
charcoal and water must be before them at all times. 

After the chicks are a week old we keep before them Blatchford's 
milk mash. They relish this greatly and it is an excellent feed and 
one that gives the chicks quick growth. 

We keep this mash .before our chicks at all times, and after they 
are fourteen weeks old we also hopper feed them with a grain mixture. 
A chick, to thrive and grow out well, wants food where he can 
get it at any time desired. 

We leave our chicks in the brooder house until four or five weeks 

old, then place them in outdoor brooders until nearly feathered out. 

From the outdoor brooders we place them in brood coops, where they 

are kept until they learn to get in out of the rain and tjaere is no 

danger Of their drowning. We then remove them out an the range 

in colony houses, giving them absolutely free range. 






SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



45 



CHAPTER TWELVE 




RAISING BARRED ROCK CHICKS 

By W. D. Holterman, . Fancier, Ft. Wayne, Ind. 

In writing this brief article I can not go into the subject on general 
lines, but will confine myself to explaining my own method by which 
I have succeeded in raising the famous "Aristocrat" Barred Rocks 
for a period of twenty years. During these years we have gradually 
eliminated faults which have come to our notice, have tried out new 
things cautiously, have never had an epidemic or an unusual amount 
of mortality, and have succeeded in hatching, raising and finishing 
not only thousands of prize-winners in the leading shows of America 
but also some of the greatest laying chickens that have ever come 
before the public. 

At the great American Egg Laying Contest (the most noted con- 
test in America) five (5) "Aristocrat" Barred Rock pullets made the 
following notable official trapnested records for eleven consecutive 
months: No. 474 laid 262 
eggs, No. 482 laid 219 eggs, 
No. 486 laid 209 eggs, No. 
471 laid 201 eggs, No. 481 
laid 186 eggs, with an addi- 
tional 31 eggs not laid in the 
trapnests, making a total of 
1108 eggs for the five birds, 
or an average of 221-3-5 
eggs each for the eleven 
months. I am mentioning 
this fact briefly in order to 
bring home the thought that 
the very richest show birds 
can also be the very greatest 
layers. There is no denying 
the fact that pure blooded 
chickens are the ones which 
produce the greatest amount 

at p]pfl|* T)TY)Tlt 

■^ ' These feathers plucked from an adult ex- 

The Parent Stock hibition Barred Rock cockerel are noteworthy 

for the brilliancy of color and the fact that 

In our experience we have the barring runs from tip to the skin. Bar- 

e —j AT. a •14.1.' red Rock Chicks when hatched are black and 

tound that success in hatching white but should fea ther out like this. 




46 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 




and rearing "Aristo- 
crat" chicks must be- 
gin with the proper 
parent stock and the 
right kind of food and 
quarters for this par- 
ent stock. Much, of 
course, depends on the 
male. He should be a 
bird quite fully ma- 
tured weighing around 
eight pounds, if he is 
a cockerel, or nine and 
one-half pounds if he 
is a cock bird. Stick 
close to the above 
standard weights for 
such birds will usual- 
ly prove to be the best 
producers. 

See that the male 
has strong, well- 
rounded, masc u 1 i n e 
head, a head that 
speaks of vigor and vitality. The head is probably the best indica- 
tor as to whether the male will fertilize the eggs strongly or not. Keep 
him active and scratching for his living during the breeding season. 
A fat male or a lazy male is no good for breeding. 

Equally important is the condition of the females. It is best to 
keep them exercising practically all day long. The eggs of a fat 
hen are seldom fertile, or if they do hatch, the chicks will not live 
Barred Rocks are inclined to become fat and lazy unless you compel 
them to get hungry enough so that they will scratch for their grain 
food. 

The Hatching Eggs 

To have the parent breeding stock in superb health during the 
entire breeding season is of prime importance. But this is not all 
Barred Rock eggs can be successfully incubated and hatched all the 
year round but the best hatching months for the United States and 
Canada are from January to June inclusive. This means that in many 
sections the eggs for hatching will be laid during cold weather and 
they must be protected against becoming chilled. During cold, wintry 
or blustry days the eggs should be gathered three or four times daily. 
Mother Hens Better Than Incubators 

We do not hatch any of our "Aristocrat" chicks with incubators. 
All of them are hatched and raised by mother hens. These remarks 
therefore, necessarily will have to be confined to this phase only 



A typical "Aristocrat" Barred Rock male as bred 
by Mr. Holterman. Notice the barring, type and 
size of this wonderful male bird. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 47 

Several days before we intend to actually set the eggs, we make 
a careful canvass of the broody hens we happen to have on hand, 
testing them for broodiness. One of the best tests we have found is 
to place the hand under the hen (without disturbing her unduly) while 
she is on her nest and if she snuggles down broodily on the hand 
then it is a pretty good indication that this hen will prove a good 
setter and hatcher. Then, at night, these hens are removed from their 
nests and brought to their specially constructed new nests where we 
want them to do their hatching. This must be done very quietly and 
gently. 

The Hatching Nest 

A few words about this special hatching nest. The first and 
prime requisite is that these nests must be built on the ground — on 
good old mother earth. This is something we have learned from the 
hens which used to steal their nests out in the open, under bushes, 
among weeds, in fence corners, etc., and all at once surprised us by 
appearing with such a lively bunch of chicks that our heart simply 
"would laugh with glee." 

The moisture rising steadily and invisibly to the surface of the 
ground helps the hatching hen and increases the vitality of the chick. 
The nest itself should be rather flat and only slightly hollowed. In 
dry weather we cut a large, square piece of sod and turn this upside- 
down for the bottom of the nest. Of course, over the ground or sod 
we place some straw, so as to keep the eggs clean during the hatch. 

If the nest is built in the open outdoors (as almost all of ours are) 
then we place some kind of shelter over it to protect it against rain, 
snow, storms or sun. A so-called "A" coop is good for this purpose 
or a box about 2 feet long, 2 feet high and 2 feet wide, or anything 
similar to this. Anything is good which affords protection against 
weather. 

Protection Against Lice 

In the straw in the nest we sift some good commercial lice powder 
as an added protection against lice. Each broody hen is dusted thor- 
oughly with a good lice powder when we place her on her hatching 
nest and thereafter we dust this hen once a week, not only during 
the three weeks of the hatch, but until the chicks are weaned. By 
doing this, as indicated above, it will not be necessary to bother with 
anything else for keeping the chicks free of lice, and a lot of later 
troubles are avoided. A hen kept free of lice makes a much more con- 
tented and quiet hatcher than one bothered with vermin. 

The Three Weeks Of The Hatch 

During the period of the hatch, the hen should be looked after 
at least once a day, given fresh water and feed and a chance to exer- 
cise, and at the same time a glance should be given to the condition 
of the nest. If the nest is soiled, if any egg should be broken, re- 
move the trouble immediately, clean everything and sponge the soiled 
eggs with lukewarm water. 



48 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



These little attentions mean better hatches and stronger chicks. 
Should the hen want to stay off the nest too long so that the eggs 
would become chilled, she must be placed on the nest gently but firmly. 
From the time the chicks begin to pip until the hatch is over, we do 
not bother our hatching hens in the least but let them take care of 
matters themselves. 

Where To Start Chicks 

Now, what shall we do when the chicks are hatched? In the 
first place remove the hen and her brood to the place where you desire 
to raise them. We place ours under "A" coops, keeping the mother 
hen penned up and letting the chicks run out at will. It is our aim 
to so place our "A'' coops with their mother hens and little chicks, 
so that the chicks will not need to be moved to new quarters until 
they have practically matured. At that time we transfer the chicks 
to their permanent winter quarters. Changing the chicks from one 
yard to another or changing their housing when the chicks are only 
partially mature will usually stunt their growth. 

When To Begin Feeding 

Of course, when these wee little "mammy babies" begin to peer 
out upon the world at large from under the downy fluff of the mother 
hen they look "so cute and so cunning" that we cannot resist the im- 
pulse to feed them, for we naturally feel that they must be hungry 
and need food. But here we must be careful. More chicks probably 
die the first 10 days of their life on account of being fed too soon 

after they are hatched than 
from any other cause. Wait 
at least 36 hours after they 
are hatched before giving 
them any food, and 48 
hours is even better. Yes, 
even if they should have to 
be 72 hours old before re- 
ceiving any food, it is real- 
ly nothing harmful. So, 
please, when you see these 
newly hatched chicks, and 
even if they should appear 
as though pleading for food, 
harden your heart and with- 
hold all the food until they 
are at least 36 hours old. 

Dry Food Only Given Chicks 

Our "Aristocrat chicks" re- 

I doubt whether there has ever appeared in ceive as their first food hard 
print such a remarkable photograph of Bar- ... 

red Rock feathers. Imagine to yourself such DOlled eggs crumbled fine. 

SX;""bS° n female - N ° tice the This and stale bread crumbs 




SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 49 

is their sole food for the first few days. For drink we give them clear, 
fresh water in absolutely clean drinking vessels. Chicks hatched in 
extremely hot weather should have a little copperas in their drinking 
water. When the "Aristocrat" chicks are five or six days old they 
receive a commercial grain ration prepared especially for little chicks 
and consisting of a variety of grain foods. This is fed in addition to 
the hard boiled eggs and bread-crumbs. 

Gradually egg and bread are eliminated and the grain ration sub- 
stituted altogether. When the chicks are two to three weeks old we 
arrange a hopper or through for them, filling this half full of a high- 
class commercial mashfood for chicks. This we feed dry. At "Holter's 
Roost," the home of "Aristocrats," wet mashes for little chicks are 
tabooed. We don't like them — don't use them. All feeds are fed dry 
until the chicks are well along in maturity. This plan we have followed 
now successfully for many years, because previous to that time we 
had fed the nicest kind of wet mashes, milk mashes, sour milk or 
buttermilk, making all kinds of experiments and — the mortality was 
awful. Others may be able to raise their chicks on wet mashes but 
we cannot. 

Feeding Program Changed. 

For a period of three months our chicks receive this dry mash in hap- 
pers so that they may help themselves, and they also receive the mix- 
ture of grains, at first the chick size, gradually the adult fowl size. 
After the chicks are three months of age we gradually increase their 
ration of corn, at first cracked corn, then whole corn. To their dry 
mash, we add about ten per cent cornmeal. This helps them to put on 
flesh so that the chicks begin to round out in nice shape. 

Now we also begin feeding a damp mash not sloppy, not even really 
wet, but dampened with water or milk. The mixture we use is simply 
the commercial brand of dry mash food which comes ready mixed and 
to this we add 15 to 20% of cornmeal. The first weeks we feed this 
only twice a week, increasing later on to three and four times per 
week. 

Rounding Them Out. 

From then on our plan of daily feeding is as follows: Early in 
the morning our chickens receive the mixture of grains scattered in 
deep litter so that they must scratch and work for it. At noon, practi- 
cally every other day, is fed the damp mash mentioned above. From 
three to five P. M. according to the length of the days, they receive 
another ration of dry grains to which is added an extra feeding of 
whole corn. On those days when the damp mash is omitted we scat- 
ter instead a small handful of grain for each chicken at noon. It must 
be borne in mind that dry mash is kept before them all the time so 
that they may help themselves at will. This ration is kept up until 
the chickens are mature. 

Additional Pointers. 

A few other points worth mentioning in connection with raising 



50 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 




There are the Light Barred Rocks and the 
Dark Barred Rocks, or as soma breeders term 
it "cockerel" matings and "pullet" matings. 
These feathers from a Light cockerel show the 
snappy consistent barring, so much admired. 



Barred Rock chicks along the 
above lines are the following: 
Absolute cleanliness day 
after day from the time the 
eggs are set until the chicks 
are matured is essential. The 
mother hens, if they are coop- 
ed in coops without floors, 
should be moved to a fresh 
piece of ground daily. If 
their coops are floored then 
these floors should be clean- 
ed frequently and disinfect- 
ed. The coops themselves 
should be whitewashed on 
the inside. 

Avoid crowding. Of course, 
when chicks are raised with 
mother hens, the danger of 
crowding is not so great. 
One hen can readily take 
care of a brood of 20 to 25 
chicks. However, after the 
chicks are weaned and must shift for themselves it is well to be watchful 
so that over crowding does not occur. Chicks over crowded, even for 
one night only, and becoming over heated, will be injured for practi- 
cally their entire lifetime. They will at once show the effects, will 
be stunted in their growth, their vitality will be greatly impaired so 
that they are subject to any ailment which may come along. They 
will never show the richness of color and glossy plumage of a thorough- 
ly healthy fowl. This one point, therefore, should be watched most 
carefully. 

Always have fresh water before them. It is best to give fresh water 
twice or thrice a day, just as you would cattle and horses. Keep the 
dishes clean. During the hot summer months drop a little copperas 
(which is cheap and may be obtained at any drug store) in their 
drinking water. Just enough to make the water look rusty. This 
is one of the finest light tonics and, I am sure, wards off disease, such 
as cholera, etc. 

Also keep charcoal before your chicks. Charcoal is a godsend to 
poultry keepers. It purifies the system, absorbs germs which might 
cause disease, and tones up the appetite. Furthermore, charcoal is 
particularly valuable to Barred Rock breeders as it has an effect on 
Barred Rock plumage, seemingly deepening the color of the dark bar. 

If you follow the above instructions, and when cold weather sets 
in, have your chickens properly housed, there is no question but what 
you will meet with success. 




SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 51 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 



SUCCESS WITH RHODE ISLAND RED CHICKS. 

By A. A. Carver, Seville, Ohio. 

This has to do with Rhode Island Reds, as they are the only chicks 
we have anything to do with, for they are our bread and butter. 

Without saying; anything disparaging about other chicks, we think 
Red chicks are just a wee bit more rugged and thrifty than any 
other variety grown under the sun. They are at least making a place 
for themselves in the sun, and one big reason is because they make a 
good impression as they emerge from the shell. 

The first step to take to produce thrifty baby chicks is in the se- 
lection of the birds that lay the eggs that hatch them. We will first 
select a very snappy male full of pep. No dead head males for us, 
no matter how beautiful. We prefer a rather fine marked male full of 
pep, rather than a big coarse male, as the finer marked males breed 
the best Reds, the big coarse males not only breed coarse, but throw 
a lot of unfertile eggs, weaklings, etc. Give us a male full of pep, 
fine marked and medium size, if bred from large stock. 

Large Females For Breeders. 

Now we go to the females. We want them as large as elephants 
if we can get them. We like 7 to 8 lb. hens to get the real stuff. We 
want them typy for the shows and for eggs. Egg records of over 
200 eggs per year at least. They must be thrifty and working hard 
every day in the straw. Must not be fat and lazy. Lazy breeders pro- 
duce weaklings and too many cripples. 

Now the care of the eggs is important. First see if the male bird 
is mated well. Gather the eggs during cold days at least every hour. 
Use about 8 hens in a mating for strong chicks. Keep the eggs in 
a cool but not cold cellar and set them not over a week laid. 

Now for the incubation. Our best advice is, if you use an incu- 
bator, to follow instruction given with it absolutely. Do not deviate 
an iota. Thousands of eggs are spoiled every season by "know-it- 
all" incubator operators, who know more than the instructions given 
them with their machine. 

If you use hens for setting, have a roomy box and make a flat nest 
using not too much straw as some hens dig down in the center and 
pile their eggs, thereby crushing them, and especially killing the 
little chicks when they first begin to hatch. 



52 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



Keep Chicks Hungry. 

If you buy baby chicks from some hatchery place them at once in a 
box behind some warm stove and feed them a wee bit of boiled eggs 
and a little bread and milk (stale bread) alternately, being careful 
to keep them all the time just a little hungry. Also keep clean water 
before them all the time. 

If you have no brooder, slip one or two of the chicks under a setting 
hen in the dark and next morning if she owns them you can transfer 
15 or 20 chicks to her. Or if you have brooders, take the baby chicks 
direct from the shipping boxes to the brooders, and follow instruc- 
tions given by the baby chicks shipper. 

Use Buttermilk Starting Feed. 

Whenever we find a bunch of little chicks not doing well we put 
them at once on a bread and milk (stale bread and sweet milk) diet 
and soon have them on their feet. We are having great success with 

buttermilk starting feed and 
there are several good kinds 
on the market. We use it 
for the first month, and at 
the same time keep fine 
scratch feed in the litter to 
make them work. 

We are using this season 
the Newtown brooders, one 
in each of our 8 by 12 Tol- 
man open air houses. Their 
brooders are fine. 

If you can obtain sour 
milk it is fine to keep before 
little chicks, only start in 
slow until they are used to it. 



Don't Let Chicks Get Chilled. 

There are more babys chick 
lost by chilling than any 
other way, and when your 
chicks begin to die off after 
ten days you can usually 
lay it to chilling. I dare say half the cases reported as white diarrhea 
are really caused by chilling. Some old hens, if set in a box where 
the wind can blow into the front, cannot keep their chicks from chill- 
ing no matter how well they hover them. We never allow our chicks 
to touch the ground until it is quite warm in the spring, for if the little 
peeps get their feet cold it sems to chill them all through. By all 
means keep your peeps on dry boards or inside on dry soil until they 
can run out without getting cold or wet feet. 




Much interest has been manifested in Rhode 
Island Reds the past few years and the above 
illustration shows a fine Rose Comb specimen. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 53 

Small Coops Best for Brooding. 

Even after the sun is warm, do not let them out in early dews but 
feed them inside and wait until the dew is off before letting them out. 

In using hens, we find that small boxes are better than large ones 
for the first month, as some hens are so restless that they move about 
all the time and do not hover their young. When you have a hen that 
will not hover well, place her in a very small coop, where she cannot 
move about and she will attend to her business of brooding. 

When the chicks are a month old we begin to keep before them a 
dry mash prepared for growing chicks which all feed stores carry, and 
also use a coarser scratch feed in the straw. Be sure the litter is 
always clean and not so deep so they can comfortably scratch to the 
bottom, and see there is plenty of gravel or fine grit on the floor. Also 
keep dry bran before them all the time after they are a month old. 

Everlasting Care First Month. 

In conclusion I wish to say the greatest losses from chicks are due 
to cold. Cold winds blowing in causing them to chill or allowing 
them to touch ground, in early spring before it is warm enough for a 
small boy to go barefooted, or improper brooding some way. Over- 
feeding, underfeeding, lack of exercise may also cause losses. 

I dare say that fifty per cent of the cases called white diarrhea are 
from the above causes which, of course, may bring on W. D. The 
secret of success with baby chicks is "everlasting care for the first 
month". Try to put yourself in their place and anticipate their wants. 
After a month they are usually saved. 




Just out— now for a good stai-t in life. 



54 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN 







ORPINGTON CHICKS EASIEST TO RAISE. 

By Captain Ora Overholser, Mechanicsville, Md. 

Did you ever stop to think of the "siting hen" proposition from the 
hen's point of view? It is true we have our arguments by which we 
justify our attitude in the matter, but I wonder if these arguments 
would go a great way in convincing the aforesaid hen that we have 
been exactly square in our treatment of her case. 

Poor, little hen; she couldn't help becoming broody if it were to 
save her life. A reputable physician would diagnose the case be- 
fore applying treatment, so let us do the same. Perhaps the case 
will not require such heroic treatment as we have been in the habit of 
bestowing. 

To begin with, nature has provided for the propagation of kind 
in every living growing thing, and she planted in the nature of the 
hen an inclination to brood after every clutch of eggs she has laid. 
In some breeds this inclination is very slight, and a little discourage- 
ment will put her off the notion, while other breeds of fowl take the 
matter more seriously; but once the fever is on and "Biddy" has fully 
made up her mind to "set" then you have a proposition to deal with. 

Early in the season, along about March or April, the clucking hen 
is welcome, for we are in need of her services to bring forth the early 
chicks that command the high prices. Then it is that we watch 
with anxious eye and discerning ear for any indication that she would 
consider the proposition of sitting tight for twenty-one days on fifteen 
eggs and safely hatch the downy chicks. She can have anything she 
wants in the line of "eats" and "drinks" and be treated like a queen 
in March or April. 

Take these same conditions in August, however, and, oh, what a 
difference in attitude toward the broody hen! We enter the laying 
house for the purpose of gathering the daily harvest of eggs. We 
come to a nest where a broody hen is warming several fresh-laid eggs 
to a temperature of 103 degrees or more. We want those eggs. Biddy 
says that we can't have them. She gives a warning note as she 
guards her eggs, and glares at us with baleful eye. We reach our 
hand toward the eggs — merely a feint on our part to draw her out. 
It draws, all right, and we narrowly escape a vicious peck in the eye 
or any other part of our anatomy that did not retreat quick enough. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



55 




A prize winning Buff Orpington cockerel 
belonging to Wm. Cook & Sons, Box 21, 
Scotch Plains, N. J. 



At just this stage of the 
game we have decided that 
we will not be balked in our 
purpose by any little old sit- 
ting hen, so we once more 
approach with all the brava- 
do we can muster and seize 
the offender by the tail, leg 
or wing as the case may be, 
and throw her bodily out of 
the nest and take her treas- 
urers away from her. 

This same operation will 
probably be repeated for 
several days, when it will 
occur to use to break up that 
sitting hen. Now, here is 
where the cruelty comes in. 
We take the affair more 
seriously than need be and 
use enough force to break 
up a man's home, say noth- 
ing of a poor, little six pound hen who is only trying to do her duty. 

Breaking Up Broody Hens. 

One of the favorite modes of torture, and one supposed to be very 
effective, is to grab the hen by the legs, and souse her in the rain- 
barrel full of water a half-dozen times or more, and turn her loose; 
this punishment is to be repeated every time the hen is found brooding 
on the nest. 

Another very effective way is to tie her by one leg to the clothes 
post in the back yard in the sun and leave her there until she no longer 
clucks. Still another way is to shut her up in a box, without food or 
water for several days, and starve her to your way of thinking. 

Now, all of these different methods, and several more, may serve 
to relieve our own feelings in the matter, but what are we doing to 
relieve the situation? If the hen survives the treatment at all, she 
is a nervous wreck, thin in flesh, broken in spirit and is going to take 
weeks to get her back into normal condition. 

Now, the simplest and most effective way in the world is the most 
humane and brings her out of the broody condition in good health, her 
nerves unshaken and ready to start laying in a few days. Take her 
from the nest as soon after you discover her broody state as possible, 
place her in an unoccupied coop or large box, remove any nest or 
litter that could be made into a nest, supply her with an abundance 
of good food and fresh water, and leave her to her own meditations 
for three or four days. If you have several broody hens they can all 



56 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

be put into the same compartment and treated in this way until 
broken up. 

To my way of thinking no person can successfully rear Orpington 
chicks until they have learned the lesson of first handling the problems 
that arise to vex the ordinary poultryman. The handling of the baby 
chick is full of trials and many occasions arise in which you will be 
tempted to kick the whole thing over and tell them what your state 
of mind is. This is in mind while the sitting hen story is written 
above. The lesson we are striving to bring out and the thing we are 
trying to teach you is that you can handle the many problems in car- 
ing for poultry with an easy hand and after a while the tempta- 
tions to rush madly away from it all will not be so numerous, eventual- 
ly they will disappear. 

Most Successful Way, The Easiest. 

The simplest way to become successful in the rearing of Orpington 
chicks is to be easy and then your state of mind will be right. Re- 
member the rule for breaking sitting hens and apply the same logic 
in different words when the little chicks will not go into the brooder 
at night or during a rain storm, when they will huddle out in a chilly 
run and get stunted, or when they continually pile up in corners of the 
house and smother, or when they crowd around the foundations and 
drown many of those who cannot get out of the water. Remember 
that in most all cases you are to blame 

To be successful with brooding chicks you must have a liking for 
the work, you must have ability to note the most minute detail and 
observe the happiness, state of health and comfort of the chicks. 

The baby chicks is half raised when you have in the coop mother- 
ing the brood a respectable old hen who has raised several broods 
and being sure that you have them protected from the elements and 
the raiders; rats, cats, dogs and hawks, etc. 

The incubator chick, those that you brood with artifieal mean:! is 
a constant care and if you will raise many at a lower cost per chick, 
you must resort to artificial methods. The most frequent mistake is 
trying to rear them in too large broods. I would advise strongly 
against having more than 200 in any brood and if so situated I would 
not have that number for you can well afford to start with a smaller 
number and raise a greater percentage at a less cost and loss over the 
large broods and against the relatively larger percentage of loss. 

I have tried rearing almost every breed of fowls that are bred; the 
Plymouth Rocks, the Leghorns, the Minorcas, the Brahmas, the An- 
conas and the Orpingtons and I have yet to find a hardier and more 
lusty chick when hatched than the Orpington chick of any color. They 
are big fluffy things and are ready to demand food almost as soon 
as you take them from the incubator. 

Pointers On Feeding. 

Of course you do not feed them until the second day and at this 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 57 

time' you will find all of them clamoring for food and water. You will 
find that the task of teaching them to eat or drink is not large. Just 
after you have placed the feed and water where they can reach it just 
stay around the coop and see what happens; you are not so expert 
that you will be able to place the food and water just right and then 
give it not a single other thought. You should remain at hand for 
some little time so that you may assist in getting them started eating 
and keeping them from drinking too much water at first; food is the 
main necessity, yet a lot of the foolish little fellows will drink chilly 
water until they are unable to drink more and unless you know just 
what is going on you may come back and find a dozen or more of the 
finest chicks dead or chilled so that the task of reviving them hard. 

Keep your eye on the thermometer and be sure that the tem- 
perature does not go too high, rather keep it a little bit cool than 
run the heat too high. Remember that you are not running this 
brooder for your own comfort so regulate it so that it is comfortable 
to the chick and save yourself needless worry and expense. By re- 
maining close at hand, as suggested above, you will be able to assure 
yourself that all is well before you leave them to their fate. 

I firmly believe that Oprington chicks are the easiest chicks of all 
the breeds to rear. Once started right you will have no cause for wor- 
ry or complaint for they almost rear themselves. 

If you are using the broody hen your troubles will not be so num- 
erous yet it will require a lot of attention to insure their safety. 

Use a variety of food in their feeding and you will have no cause 
for loss of appetite or stunted chicks. Keep looking after the chicks 
and remove from the lively and fighting youngsters any that may 
not be getting their share of the food or becoming stunted. Once 
stunted always a bother and care; they are a disappointment, food 
does them little good besides keeping them alive, and after they have 
made away with much costly food, they are almost sure to die or have 
an accident befall them, so do not allow any backward chicks to remain 
with those that are more lively. 

Plenty of clear, clean, fresh water is the most necessary thing. 
Provide enough water for all. In the summer time when the water 
gets warm you should be sure that they have fresh water at all times. 

Fight The Lice. 

Fight the louse. Once you allow the louse to get the upper hand 
you are lost; they work while you sleep and before you realize what 
is wrong your chicks are going backwards and after a while you will 
notice it, you will wonder "now, what is it?" While you are wondering 
you are no doubt changing the feed; they grow steadily worse, many 
die and after awhile you tumble to the louse. He has been getting in 
his dirty work while you have been content that all was well. Dis- 
infect always. Keep at it. You cannot be too clean in the care of 
chicks. Every few days inspect several of the little fellows and look 
for lice. When you are in doubt disinfect. 



58 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

Get ready to dip the chicks and do not fail to do so often. You have 
no doubt had experience or at least become familiar with the new 
method of dipping chicks and fowl. Sodium-floride is the chemical 
used. It kills lice. It may be used as a dip or in the powdered form. 

After the weather becomes warmer and the chicks grown older you 
should harden the chicks so that in a short time you can have them 
hover without artificial heat. 

If you are rearing your first brood of Orpington chicks and have 
had experience in rearing other breeds I am sure that you will agree 
with me that they are the easiest reared and that they are the hardiest 
chick that you have ever attempted to raise. 

After passing thru periods of breeding various breeds of fowls I 
finally came to the Orpingtons and came to appreciate the virtues of 
them and now I breed nothing else from a fancy point of view. 

While the choice of any special breed of fancy fowls must neces- 
sarily be determined very largely by the individual taste of the breeder, 
the Orpingtons have so many qualities that excell, it would seem that 
they must continue to be very widely adopted by those who are seeking 
either aesthetic or commercial qualities in fowls. 

An Aristocratic Appearance 

There has been produced in them a large size without sacrificing 
grace of carriage. Indeed, they show an artistoeratic appearance that 
is very marked, and not excelled by any other breed. They are, how- 
ever, remarkably active, and even sprightly, for birds of such size. 
They are not so slow or sluggish as the Cochin, while, of course, they 
are not so vivacious as the L'eghorn. That is one of the things that 
led me to select them. I can easily keep them where I want them — 
a two foot wire strip will do that — and I can move all around among 
them without scaring them out of a week's supply of eggs. They seem 
so friendly! And then their form, I think, is very beautiful; every 
line of their contour indicates grace as well as dignity — a combination 
that, I am sure is not found to such an extent in another breed. 

One can find splendid coloring on other breeds; not only a beautiful 
blending of colors, but brilliancy. But I must say there is little to 
be found that is more beautiful and more brilliant than the green 
satiny sheen of the Black Orpington. I can stand and gaze at them 
for a long time and enjoy it, and then go out and gaze still longer. 
They are like pictures, only finer than painters can make. 

Orpingtons are also of value to those who are breeding them for 
a money consideration. Well-bred birds, that conform to the stand- 
ard requirements, must always be in demand and will always bring 
good prices. • ^fjljlE; 

And then they are excellent layers. Whatever may be said about 
the "dual-purpose" cow, breeders have certainly produced the "dual- 
purpose" hen. And this breed will not be boarders only; they will more 
than pay for what they get. 





SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 59 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

BROODING AND FEEDING BLACK LANGSHAN CHICKS 

By Bernice H. Barrett, Fortville, Ind. 

The real secret of raising chickens isn't printed in book form. It is 
the inborn feeling, the understanding of the little creatures, a real 
liking for the tiny fellows and an interest so deep in their well being, 
that you do not hesitate to crawl out of bed in the darkest hours of 
night or wade out in any kind of a storm to care for them, if needs be. 
If you haven't this feeling for little and big of the chicken family, 
you might just as well not try to raise baby chicks. 

Another thing to be considered before trying to raise chicks is the 
condition of the parent birds. If they are what they should be in 
health and vitality, your battle is half won before the chicks are 
hatched. 

Suppose you have a full working knowledge of your own individual 
hatching system and you come to that most interesting time — taking 
the baby chicks out of the nest or incubator which ever it may be. 
I never use hens to hatch with, therefore I will speak of incubator 
chicks entirely, but I believe you can safely apply all my rules to hen- 
hatched chicks just the same. 

This is a very important time in the baby chicks career. There are 
two grave dangers — the chilling of the chicks, and where too man^ 
are brooded together, the over-heating caused by crowding. To 
overcome these in a degree, I always have several market baskets 
on hand and use some of the many feed sacks that accumulate around 
where chickens are raised. I divide the babies into bunches of not 
more than 25 to the basket, with the sacks under and over them. 
These baskets are kept in the house for several hours. 

Some finicky housekeepers may have a fit, but what did I tell you 
at first — do you like 'em ? You will naturally lift the covering every 
few minutes to peep at the fluffy little dears and in this way you are 
getting them accustomed to the cooler air gradually. 

Of course if you are raising thousands of chicks you will have a 
coal burning brooder in a good warm house, which will be quite a 
different proposition. But I am not trying to tell the big poultry 
raiser anything. I am only hoping to help some beginner get a good 
start or perhaps help a little, the person who like myself, only intends 
to raise a few hundred but wants good ones. 



60 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 

Uses Feather Hovers 

I use the feather hovers. These are placed in a warm brooder house 
with about 50 chicks to the hover. My, how they do like these hovers. 
They are just like an old hen only better, for they do not eat nor step 
on the chicks, and the grandest thing of all they do not have lice. On 
the brooder floors is either clover or oats chaff, not too deep at first. 

While the chicks are still in the baskets, I scatter some fine chick 
grit on the bottom and the bright particles cause the chicks to begin 
picking. It isn't long until it is all cleaned up. At this time, too, I 
invert a jelly glass in a small, shallow dish and give them water, 
watching to see that they do not get wet and chilled. 

When they are at least 36 hours old and have eaten their grit, I 
consider them ready for their first real feed. Did you ever stoop down 
close to a bunch of chickens when they are asleep and listen to the 
grinding noise in their little gizzards. Now what do you suppose would 
happen if they did not have the grit first? The food would pass 
through those little mills only half or not at all digested and would 
cause bowel trouble. Now you see why I deem it very necessary that 
they have the grit before they get any feed. 

The First Feed. 

The babies are put down upon the chaff and a small amount of 
H-0 steam cooked chick feed is spinkled around for them to work 
at. By the way, I am not getting paid for advertising any feed or any 
other article I may mention. I am only telling you what I use be- 
cause I consider it the best for the purpose. Every grain of this feed 
is steam cooked and then thoroughly dried and will not cause bowel 
trouble. I have used it for five years and would not try to raise chicks 
without at double the cost. 

At the same time they get the grain feed, I also fill small feeders 
with Blatchford's Milk Mash and keep it before them all the time 
until they are about 10 or 12 weeks old when I add one quart of 
coarse bran to every gallon of mash. If I have any young fries I 
want to push a little, I also add one quart of cornmeal. ft 

Danger in Overfeeding. ^>u^; 

There fe much more danger in overfeeding at first thai^- there is 
of not feeding enough. Better be saving of your feed at firlt/ for they 
will need it later on. After the chicks are a week old I keep fine 
charcoal and chick grit before them in feeders all the time. It is sur- 
prising how much they will eat of both. If the grit is put out at first 
they seem to eat too much. I believe it is the bright specks of sand that 
attract them until they get old enough to know that the grit is not food. 

Green food of some kind they must have as long as they are in the 
brooder and I always use the tops off the oats sprouted for the old 
birds. These fill the bill nicely until the chicks can be turned out into 
the yards. It is their nature to be on the ground and I always get 
them out as soon as the ground is at all warm. They seem to gain 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 61 

strength from the contact with Mother Earth. If the sun is shining- 
real warm I often put the chicks out on the grass to sun before put- 
ting them in the brooder. 

After the tenth day I feel that my chicks are safe, so far as any 
of the chick diseases are concerned. If at any time there is any signs 
of irregularity of the bowels I use Avicol tablets in the drinking water. 

If I notice a chick being "off it is removed and if the case looks 
serious it is killed. As well as I like them I would rather kill one 
than to risk losing several. 

From the time they are eight weeks old, I cull out the best developed 
chicks and these are put into another house. The others are given a 
better chance to develop, for the biggest and strongest ones always run 
over and push the others back and they do not have an equal chance. 

Sweet or Sour Milk Good. 

There is one other thing I like to feed very much and that is milk, 
either sour or sweet. If I start a bunch of chicks with sweet milk I 
never give them sour milk and vice versa. Some people object to sour 
milk and some do not like sweet milk. I do not want an alternate feed- 
ing of sweet and sour milk. 

In summing up the whole thing I would say, be sure of the parent 
stock, do not allow chicks to get chilled, feed regularly and the best 
feeds, give plenty of water and grit, keep things clean and if your 
Black Langshan chicks don't grow to be fine big fellows you haven't 
the required qualifications I mentioned at first. 




A pen of high class White Wyandottes. 



62 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN 




RAISING WHITE FACED BLACK SPANISH CHICKS. 

By J. W. Friesner, Bremen, Ohio. 
How to care for the baby chicks, after they have been hatched, is 
a very important subject, and many a new beginners meets with his 
or hey downfall at this stage of the game. 

We have used the following method for years and have been very 
successful. 

After the baby chicks are forty-eight hours old we remove them from 
the incubators and they are given a light feed, toasted bread crumbs, 
moistened with milk and sprinkled over with fine chick grit. Then 
they are placed under a home-made brooder, which is made on the plan 
of the coal burning brooder, only we are fortunate enough to live in 
the natural gas belt and use gas for fuel. 

We give them their feed on clean paper spread before them and after 

through paper is removed 
and a clean one used next 
time. This method keeps 
their feed out of the sand that 
we cover the floor with un- 
der the brooder. 

Five Feeds a Day. 

We feed the chicks five 
times a day for the first 
week and after the second 
day we substitute Spratt's 
chick meal soaked in warm 
water or milk for the bread 
crumbs, which is fed to them 
two or three times a day 
and a good commercial chick 
grain feed is used for the 
balance of the day. The grain 
is scattered in the sand to 
give them plenty of exercise. 

Small grit and fine charcoal, 

A grand specimen of a White Faced Black SOU1* thick milk and Water 
Spanish male. Bred and owned by J. W. v <. ,■> n .. 

Friesner & Son, Box S, Bremen, Ohio. are before them at all times. 




SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



63 




Many poultry keepers use these all metal, take- 
apart broods doops. 



Care must be taken not 
to overfeed them, as 
there is more danger in 
doing this than in under- 
feeding. We aim to feed 
each time just what they 
will clean up in about 
ten minutes. 

At the end of the first 
week we commence feed- 
ing them three times 
each day, morning feed 
of Spratt's chick meal 
soaked in milk or warm 

water, water noon and evening feed of chick grain. 
Prefers Blatchford's Milk Mash. 
Commencing at the end of the first week we keep Blachford's Milk 
Mash before them all the time in a box about two inches deep covered 
with a wire netting (1 in. mesh) which prevents them from wasting 
the mash. 

For green food we allow them to run out in small parks, weather 
permitting, in which oats, wheat and rape has been planted. 

When the chicks are 8 to 10 weeks old they are given free range, 
cockerels separated from the pullets and fed a grain mixture of wheat, 
cracked corn and steel cut oats and a good dry mash consisting of 
bran, corn meal, middlings and beef scrap, which is kept before them 
all the time in hoppers. 

Varied Diet For Best Results. 

It should be remembered that a young chicken has to grow bone, 
muscle, and a coat of feathers at the same time. No one food will 
answer these requirements and the more varied the diet the better 
the results. 

By this brooding and feeding method, as we have described we have 
been able to have our White Laced Black Spanish and Single Comb 
White Leghorn pullets hatched early in March to commence laying 
the first week of August. 




Trapnests, like these, are being used more and more. 



64 SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 




HOW TO BROOD CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 

By Prof. F. W. Kazmeier, Poultry Husbandman, A. and M. 

College of Texas. 

Strongly fertilized eggs, properly incubated, should being to hatch 
on the morning of the 20th day and should all be hatched by the end 
of that day. Keep them in the incubator 24 to 36 hours after they 
are hatched and during this time start up the brooder or brooders; 
get them thoroughly dry and the temperature properly regulated. 

In the brooding of chicks, no matter what kind of brooding ar- 
rangement is provided, the main things to be watched are tempera- 
ture and ventilation. The temperature should be about the same as 
in the incubator at the time the chicks are removed. In winter, pro- 
vide a temperature of 100 degrees. In summer a temperature of 95 
degrees gives best results. The first few days in the brooder, the 
chicks require sleep, rest and proper temperature more than anything 
else. 

They require pure, fresh water, so provided that they cannot get 
into it and wet themselves. Provide this from the first day. In fact, 
when for any reason it becomes necessary to confine the chicks in the 
incubator longer than usual, give them water while in the incubator. 
This will prevent them developing an abnormal thirst that would cause 
them to drink too much water in the brooder. When they are given 
water keep it before them all the time. 

Do not place it before them only at certian intervales, because 
in doing so they are likely to drink too much and too irregularly, 
In providing water it is important to provide it in such a way that 
all may get their fill without crowding or trampling. One chick size 
fountain to each fifty chicks is sufficient, but two are better. 

95 Degrees First Week 

During the first week the temperture should not be allowed to 
drop below 95 degrees. After that time, the temperature may be 
gradually reduced at the rate of 2% degrees per week, until the chicks 
can do without heat. Beginners will find it desirable to have a 
thermometer in their brooders. Many successful operators do not 
use a thermometer, preferring to watch the chicks and their actions 
and allow them to indicate the desired temperature. Generally 
speaking, it is better practice to be governed by the actions of the 
chicks, rather than the reading of a thermometer. 



SECRETS OF SUCCESS WITH BABY CHICKS 65 

Remember, the temperature must be kept high enough to prevent 
crowding, yet it should not be so high as to drive the chicks out from 
under the hover and away from the source of heat. The temperture 
should be kept as uniform as possible. Guard against extremes and 
sudden changes. 

Each morning look under the hover and note the position of the 
litter; if it is scratched away from the source of heat, it shows that 
the chicks crowded toward the source of heat in their attempt to get 
warm; if it is piled up against the heater drum or pushed toward the 
center of the hover, it shows that the temperature was too high, caus- 
ing the chicks to move away from the source of heat and scratch the 
litter toward the same. 

I like a temperature as near correct and uniform as possible, at 
the same time, would prefer to err on the side of a little too high 
than too low temperature. If it is a little too high, they can move 
away from the source of heat; but if it is too low, the best they can 
do is to crowd as much as possible, and so doing the weaker ones are 
often injured or trampled to death. Remember a chilled chick is 
about the same as a dead chick. 

Avoid Chilling The Chick 

Chilling artificially brooded chicks causes brooder pneumonia, 
which annually kills many millions of small chicks. Chilling also fre- 
quently causes bowel trouble and diarrhoea. In fact, chilling is per- 
haps the second greatest cause of mortality in brooder chicks, with 
over-heating as the third. Over-heating small chicks has a tendency 
to weaken their constitution, bake the non-absorbed yolk, and cause 
indigestion through the souring of feed in the crop and digestion 
system. It frequently is the cause of bowel trouble and so-called com- 
mon diarrhoea. 

What is needed is a mild, uniform, radiated top heat. I do not 
believe in bottom heat. Bottom heat has a tendency to cause leg 
weakness and rheumatism. Just enough bottom heat to keep the 
floor dry is satisfactory, but no more. I have no preference as to 
hot water or hot air heat. At night the temperature should at all 
times be high enough to drive the chicks partly from under the hov- 
er, causing them to locate near the fringe or hover curtain. 

Oxygen, which can only be provided in the form of fresh air to small 
chicks, is as important or more so and if not properly provided, fail- 
ures can be the only result. The air in the exercising room should 
always be fresh and sweet-smelling, even though it may be neces- 
sary to increase the ventilation to such an extent as to lower the tem- 
perature quite a little. 

Provide Plenty of Fresh Air 

It is better that the air in the exercising room should be rather 
cold and sweet-smelling than warm and foul-smelling. Too much 
cannot be said in favor of providing small chicks with plenty of fresh 
air without drafts. 



Chapter 


I 


Chapter 


II 


Chapter 


III 


Chapter 


IV 


Chapter 


V 


Chapter 


VI 


Chapter 


VII 


Chapter 


VIII 


Chapter 


IX 


Chapter 


X 


Chapter 


XI 


Chapter 


XII 


Chapter 


XIII 


Chapter 


XIV 


Chapter 


XV 


Chapter 


XVI 


Chapter XVII 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

Brooding and Feeding Chicks Successfully 5 

Some Essentials In Feeding Chicks 9 

Toe Picking and Cannibalism in Chicks < 18 

Maturing The Chicks Properly 23 

Suggestions On Care of Chicks During Summer Time 26 

Success With White Leghorn Chicks 29 

Raising Brown Leghorn Chicks 33 

Why I Like Buff Leghorns 36 

Secrets of Success In Raising Minorca Chicks 37 

Care Of Ancona Chicks 40 

How To Raise White Rock Chicks 42 

Raising Barred Rock Chicks 45 

Success With Rhode Island Red Chicks 51 

Orpington Chicks Easiest To Raise 54 

Brooding and Feeding Black Langshan Chicks 59 

Raising White Faced Black Spanish Chicks 62 

How To Brood Chicks Successfully 64 




POULTRY SUCCESS LIBRARY 

1 — Poultry Keeping in a Nutshell By Henry Trafford 

2 — Profits in Poultry Keeping Solved By Edgar Briggs 

3— The Smith Method of Poultry Keeping 

4 — Up-to-date Poultry Houses and Appliances By Henry Trafford 

5 — Rankin's Duck Culture By James Rankin 

6 — Poultry Common Sense By Henry Trafford 

7 — All About Indian Runner Ducks Mrs. D. 0. Teasley 

8 — Secrets of Success With Baby Chicks By Campbell L. Cory 



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